BP (NYSE:BP) Downgraded to Underweight Rating by Morgan Stanley

BP (NYSE:BP) was downgraded by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. They currently have a $26.50 target price on the oil and gas exploration company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would indicate a potential downside of 10.98% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on BP. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of BP from $34.00 to $30.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group downgraded shares of BP from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of BP from $30.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. TD Cowen lowered BP from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $50.00 price objective on BP in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, BP presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.06.

BP Trading Up 4.1%

NYSE BP opened at $29.77 on Monday. BP has a 12 month low of $25.22 and a 12 month high of $38.16. The company has a market capitalization of $80.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 372.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $30.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.60.

BP (NYSE:BP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.03). BP had a return on equity of 10.96% and a net margin of 0.20%. The business had revenue of $46.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.97 EPS. BP’s quarterly revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that BP will post 3.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in BP by 2,250.0% during the first quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 940 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co lifted its stake in BP by 400.0% in the 1st quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 1,000 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC increased its stake in BP by 178.0% in the 1st quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 1,034 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 662 shares during the period. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in BP in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in BP during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. 11.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About BP

BP p.l.c. provides carbon products and services. The company operates through Gas & Low Carbon Energy, Oil Production & Operations, and Customers & Products segments. It engages in the production of natural gas, and integrated gas and power; trading of gas; operation of onshore and offshore wind power, as well as hydrogen and carbon capture and storage facilities; trading and marketing of renewable and non-renewable power; and production of crude oil.