BP (NYSE:BP) Sees Large Volume Increase – Time to Buy?

Shares of BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) saw unusually-high trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 8,771,293 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 33% from the previous session’s volume of 13,042,871 shares.The stock last traded at $47.9910 and had previously closed at $47.35.

More BP News

Here are the key news stories impacting BP this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks and other publications added BP to Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) lists for income and value investors, raising short‑term visibility among retail and income-oriented funds. This Top Oils and Energy Stock is a #1 (Strong Buy): Why It Should Be on Your Radar
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley upgraded BP to Overweight and raised its price target to $49.40, signaling improved analyst sentiment that can support further buying. BP Upgraded to ‘Overweight’, Price Target Raised to $49.40
• Positive Sentiment: BP announced a planned $1.5 billion investment in Egyptian natural gas exploration for FY2026/27, which supports upstream growth and cash‑flow prospects. Bp to invest $1.5bln in Egypt natural gas exploration in FY 2026/27
• Neutral Sentiment: BP shares recently hit a 52‑week high, reflecting momentum but also potentially inviting short‑term profit taking at elevated levels. Bp stock hits 52-week high at 47.35 USD
• Negative Sentiment: BP lost the head of its electric‑vehicle charging division for the second time in a year, raising questions about execution and strategy as the company appears to pivot back toward oil & gas. BP loses head of EV charging as it accelerates pivot back to oil and gas

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BP. Argus raised shares of BP to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of BP from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. HSBC upgraded shares of BP from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $35.10 to $45.30 in a report on Friday, March 20th. BNP Paribas Exane cut BP from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $38.50 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of BP in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BP presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.18.

BP Stock Up 0.7%

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $39.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.73. The company has a market capitalization of $124.97 billion, a PE ratio of -4,751.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 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 released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $47.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $42.19 billion. BP had a net margin of 0.03% and a return on equity of 9.68%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.44 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that BP p.l.c. will post 3.53 EPS for the current year.

BP Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $0.4992 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 20th. BP’s payout ratio is -19,800.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in BP by 4.2% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 39,146 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $1,172,000 after buying an additional 1,588 shares during the period. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in BP during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of BP by 45.5% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 15,537 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $465,000 after purchasing an additional 4,856 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of BP by 206.0% in the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 252,849 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $7,568,000 after purchasing an additional 170,221 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its holdings in shares of BP by 7.4% during the second quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 8,295 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.01% of the company’s stock.

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.