BP Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:BP)

BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) saw unusually large options trading on Thursday. Investors acquired 660,563 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 2,902% compared to the average daily volume of 22,001 call options.

BP Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:BP opened at $39.02 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $102.32 billion, a PE ratio of -3,898.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.26. The company’s fifty day moving average is $36.04 and its 200-day moving average is $35.29. BP has a 52 week low of $25.22 and a 52 week high of $39.51.

BP (NYSE:BP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $47.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $42.19 billion. BP had a net margin of 0.03% and a return on equity of 9.68%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.44 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that BP will post 3.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BP Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 20th will be paid a $0.4992 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 20th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.1%. BP’s payout ratio is currently -19,800.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BP has been the subject of several analyst reports. Evercore set a $38.00 target price on BP and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of BP from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of BP from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered shares of BP from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $38.50 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Argus raised shares of BP to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, BP currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.35.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BP

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT acquired a new position in shares of BP during the fourth quarter worth approximately $67,890,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund bought a new position in BP in the 4th quarter worth approximately $17,768,000. Sagefield Capital LP lifted its holdings in BP by 125.2% during the 4th quarter. Sagefield Capital LP now owns 493,556 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $17,141,000 after buying an additional 274,381 shares in the last quarter. Milford Funds Ltd. bought a new position in BP in the 4th quarter valued at $8,335,000. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of BP by 206.0% during the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 252,849 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $7,568,000 after acquiring an additional 170,221 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.01% of the company’s stock.

About BP

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.