Brokerages Set BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) Price Target at $44.39

BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-four ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $44.8231.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BP. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of BP from $41.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Melius Research lowered shares of BP from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $31.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. HSBC raised shares of BP from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $35.10 to $45.30 in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Zacks Research raised shares of BP from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of BP from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday.

Institutional Trading of BP

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strategic Advocates LLC acquired a new stake in BP in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of BP during the first quarter worth approximately $39,000. YANKCOM Partnership grew its position in shares of BP by 1,068.3% during the fourth quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 958 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 876 shares during the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of BP during the third quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC grew its position in BP by 76.2% in the 4th quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 1,276 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 552 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.01% of the company’s stock.

BP News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting BP this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BP was highlighted by Zacks as trading at a discount versus peers on an EV/EBITDA basis, with higher oil prices, 14 recent discoveries, and ongoing debt reduction potentially supporting stronger cash flow and valuation upside. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: BP acquired a 40% stake in Uzbekistan’s Ustyurt blocks, marking its first upstream entry into the country and expanding its exploration footprint into Central Asia through a new partnership with SOCAR and Uzbekneftegaz. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: BP also received a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) mention in a “best growth stocks” roundup, which can reinforce bullish sentiment around the shares. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: BP is scheduled to meet union leaders next week to resume contract negotiations for workers at its Whiting, Indiana refinery; the update suggests ongoing labor talks, but it is not yet clear whether this will materially affect operations or earnings. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: BP’s inclusion in a dividend-driven FTSE 100 ex-dividend move was mentioned in UK market coverage, but this looks like a technical index effect rather than a company-specific operational driver. Article Title

BP Stock Performance

BP opened at $44.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $44.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.28. The stock has a market cap of $115.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.18. BP has a 1 year low of $28.41 and a 1 year high of $48.27.

BP (NYSE:BP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $52.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $48.50 billion. BP had a net margin of 1.62% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.53 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that BP will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current year.

BP Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a $0.4992 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.5%. BP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 164.17%.

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.