BP (NYSE:BP) Cut to Strong Sell at Freedom Capital

Freedom Capital lowered shares of BP (NYSE:BP) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report published on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

BP has been the subject of several other research reports. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of BP in a research report on Friday, December 12th. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded BP from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $38.50 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $51.00 target price on shares of BP in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Evercore set a $38.00 target price on BP and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Santander raised shares of BP to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BP has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.35.

BP Trading Up 1.3%

BP stock opened at $37.69 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $35.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. BP has a 52 week low of $25.22 and a 52 week high of $39.51. The stock has a market cap of $98.24 billion, a PE ratio of -3,764.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.33.

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

BP Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.4992 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 20th. BP’s payout ratio is presently -19,800.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT bought a new position in shares of BP in the fourth quarter worth about $67,890,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund bought a new stake in shares of BP in the fourth quarter valued at about $17,768,000. Milford Funds Ltd. bought a new position in shares of BP in the 4th quarter valued at about $8,335,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its position in 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 buying an additional 170,221 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vestor Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BP by 3,119.8% during the fourth quarter. Vestor Capital LLC now owns 66,553 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $2,311,000 after acquiring an additional 64,486 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 11.01% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting BP

Here are the key news stories impacting BP this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Sanctions reset could unlock Venezuelan reserves, supporting longer‑term production upside and strategic growth opportunities for BP and peers. Sanctions reset propels BP, Chevron and Shell back into Venezuela’s vast oil reserves
• Neutral Sentiment: BP’s Q4 2025 earnings call prepared remarks were published (useful for details on cash flow, capital allocation and guidance) — the transcript itself is informational and may influence investor views once read in detail. BP Q4 2025 Earnings Call Prepared Remarks Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Freedom Capital downgraded BP from “hold” to “strong sell,” increasing downside sentiment among retail/trading audiences. Freedom Capital downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Wall Street Zen lowered BP’s stock rating, adding to analyst pressure and potentially prompting selling from model‑driven funds. BP Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen
• Negative Sentiment: Melius Research cut BP to “Sell,” a further negative signal that could weigh on sentiment and increase short‑term volatility. BP Cut to “Sell” at Melius Research
• Negative Sentiment: TD Cowen lowered its price target from $37 to $35 and moved to “hold,” implying ~7% downside from current levels and creating additional near‑term ceiling pressure. TD Cowen price target cut
• Negative Sentiment: Labor negotiations with the United Steelworkers at the Whiting refinery are ongoing and strike preparations were reported — a credible operational risk that could lead to disruptions or higher costs if escalated. BP, United Steelworkers negotiations continue after strike preparations at BP Whiting refinery

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.