Analysts Set BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) PT at $38.28

Shares of BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twenty-two brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have assigned a hold recommendation, six have assigned a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $38.2750.

BP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded BP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. Freedom Capital downgraded BP from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of BP in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. HSBC raised shares of BP from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $35.10 to $45.30 in a research report on Friday. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of BP from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strategic Advocates LLC purchased a new position in shares of BP in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in BP in the third quarter worth $26,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in BP in the second quarter worth $27,000. YANKCOM Partnership lifted its position in BP by 1,068.3% during the fourth quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 958 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 876 shares during the period. Finally, Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of BP during the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. Institutional investors own 11.01% of the company’s stock.

BP Price Performance

Shares of BP stock opened at $43.58 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $38.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.31. BP has a 12-month low of $25.22 and a 12-month high of $46.79. The firm has a market cap of $114.26 billion, a PE ratio of -4,353.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

BP (NYSE:BP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.03. The company 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.44 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that BP will post 3.53 EPS for the current year.

BP Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 20th will be issued a $0.4992 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 20th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.6%. BP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -19,800.00%.

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.