BP’s (BP) Hold Rating Reaffirmed at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group restated their hold rating on shares of BP (LON:BP) in a research note released on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have a GBX 650 target price on the oil and gas exploration company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Berenberg Bank reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of BP in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of BP in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of BP in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley raised BP to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Barclays reissued a “buy” rating on shares of BP in a research note on Tuesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BP presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of GBX 559.

BP Price Performance

Shares of BP stock opened at GBX 562.10 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 136.71. The company’s 50-day moving average price is GBX 522.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is GBX 469.08. BP has a 52 week low of GBX 379.70 and a 52 week high of GBX 562.30. The stock has a market cap of £109.40 billion, a PE ratio of 41.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 0.06.

Insider Transactions at BP

In related news, insider Carol Howle bought 62 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of GBX 510 per share, with a total value of £316.20. Insiders purchased a total of 142 shares of company stock worth $70,530 over the last three months. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key BP News

Here are the key news stories impacting BP this week:

• Positive Sentiment: UBS upgraded BP to Buy, citing confidence in the new CEO and a turning-point opportunity for the company. BP raised to Buy at UBS as new CEO takes over ‘at critical turning pont’
• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs kept a Buy on BP and raised its price target to p650, citing solid trading performance and resilient cash generation. BP: Solid Trading Performance and Resilient Cash Generation Underpinning a Sustained Buy Rating
• Positive Sentiment: BP reported an “exceptional” quarter for oil trading as geopolitical-driven price volatility (Iran war) boosted trading results — a near-term earnings/cashflow positive. BP hails ‘exceptional’ quarter for oil traders as Iran war stokes volatility
• Neutral Sentiment: Major brokers are mixed overall: Barclays reaffirmed Buy while Jefferies and JPMorgan remain Neutral/Hold — signaling divergent views on medium-term upside. BP JP Morgan is Neutral
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider activity: a small purchase by director Kate Thomson (5 shares) was reported; immaterial but a minor vote of confidence. BP insider purchase reported on MarketBeat
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports say BP’s new CEO is reorganising the company into two main units (upstream and downstream) and reshuffling executives — a strategic shift that could unlock value long-term but creates near-term execution risk. BP’s new CEO to simplify company structure into upstream, downstream units
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts warn BP’s rising debt could delay a return to buybacks; given BP’s elevated debt-to-equity, that dampens expectations for shareholder returns despite strong trading cashflow. BP’s debt boost could dash hopes of return to share buybacks, analyst says
• Negative Sentiment: Short-term market reaction: heightened volume and profit-taking amid the mixed news (restructure uncertainty + debt worries) likely pushed the share price lower today.

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. In addition, the company involved in convenience and retail fuel, EV charging, Castrol lubricant, aviation, B2B, and midstream businesses; refining and oil trading; and bioenergy business.