BP Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:BP)

BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Traders purchased 128,060 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 583% compared to the average volume of 18,739 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on BP. Weiss Ratings upgraded BP from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Argus raised shares of BP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on BP from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. BNP Paribas Exane set a $57.00 target price on shares of BP and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded BP from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, BP presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.36.

BP Stock Performance

NYSE BP traded down $0.27 on Friday, hitting $42.56. 6,480,949 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,613,121. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.95. BP has a fifty-two week low of $32.72 and a fifty-two week high of $48.27. The firm has a market cap of $111.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.16. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $41.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.15.

BP (NYSE:BP) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The oil and gas exploration company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.35. BP had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 2.49%.The company had revenue of $69.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $57.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share. BP’s quarterly revenue was up 106.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that BP will post 6.04 EPS for the current year.

BP Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a $0.5196 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.9%. This is a positive change from BP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. BP’s dividend payout ratio is 100.00%.

Institutional Trading of BP

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Bancorp Inc ME bought a new position in shares of BP in the 2nd quarter worth about $105,000. Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new position in BP in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $147,000. Foster & Motley Inc. grew its stake in shares of BP by 52.7% in the second quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 21,619 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $799,000 after purchasing an additional 7,462 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of BP in the second quarter valued at approximately $220,000. Finally, Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in BP by 7.4% during the second quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,762 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 607 shares in the last quarter. 11.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

BP News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting BP this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Venezuela gas expansion: BP secured a licence to explore and develop the second phase of the offshore Loran gas field with ADNOC-backed XRG and Qatar-linked UCC Oil and Gas Holding. The field is estimated to contain approximately 4 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas, giving BP exposure to a potentially valuable long-term production opportunity as Venezuela reopens its energy sector to international companies. BP granted license for Venezuela’s Loran gas field in partnership with XRG, UCC
• Positive Sentiment: International partnerships reduce execution burden: BP’s partnership with Gulf-backed companies could provide capital, regional expertise and political support for the Venezuelan project. The deal also positions BP among the first major international energy companies returning to the country after years of isolation. BP returns to Venezuela with Gulf partners
• Positive Sentiment: Shah Deniz project advances: Emerson won a multimillion-dollar contract to provide automation technology for BP’s $2.9 billion Shah Deniz Compression project in Azerbaijan. The project is designed to access lower-pressure gas reserves and support production, although the contract is more significant operationally than financially for BP in the near term. Emerson wins contract for BP’s Shah Deniz Compression project
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor positioning: Unusually heavy options activity included purchases of 128,060 call options, more than five times average daily volume. This may indicate increased bullish speculation, but it does not represent a change in BP’s fundamentals.
• Negative Sentiment: Strategic and geopolitical concerns: The Venezuela announcement came shortly after BP outlined plans to leave the North Sea, raising questions about its geographic priorities and exposure to a politically sensitive market. The Loran licence remains subject to regulatory approvals, and sanctions, infrastructure challenges and political uncertainty could delay development or increase costs. BP to develop offshore gasfield in Venezuela

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.