BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the twenty-one brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $40.4091.

Several brokerages have recently commented on BP. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $51.00 target price on shares of BP in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Bank of America cut BP from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of BP in a report on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of BP in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $38.00 price objective on shares of BP and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th.

BP Stock Performance

Shares of BP stock opened at $38.01 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $35.41 and a 200-day moving average of $34.67. The company has a market cap of $99.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. BP has a 52 week low of $25.22 and a 52 week high of $38.88.

BP (NYSE:BP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.13. BP had a net margin of 0.79% and a return on equity of 9.07%. The business had revenue of $48.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.83 earnings per share. BP’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that BP will post 3.53 earnings per share for the current year.

BP Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th were given a $0.4992 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 14th. This is a positive change from BP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. BP’s payout ratio is 341.38%.

Institutional Trading of BP

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BP. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its position in shares of BP by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 139,830 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $4,856,000 after buying an additional 9,000 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in BP by 38.8% during the 4th quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,420 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $605,000 after acquiring an additional 4,866 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp boosted its holdings in BP by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 3,933 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $137,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV grew its stake in shares of BP by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 7,045 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $245,000 after acquiring an additional 651 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of BP by 19.5% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 38,809 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $1,348,000 after purchasing an additional 6,321 shares in the last quarter. 11.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BP Company Profile

BP plc is a British multinational integrated energy company headquartered in London. Originating in the early 20th century as the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, BP has grown into one of the world’s largest oil and gas companies, operating across exploration and production, refining and marketing, trading, and a range of low-carbon businesses.

The company’s core activities include upstream exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas, midstream and trading operations, and downstream refining, marketing and supply of fuels, lubricants and petrochemicals.