BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-four brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have issued a hold recommendation, eleven have issued a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $46.1417.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Zacks Research cut BP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 25th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of BP from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised shares of BP from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $49.40 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of BP from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded BP from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BP. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in BP by 4.2% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its holdings in BP by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 8,295 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $248,000 after buying an additional 568 shares in the last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in BP by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,513 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $375,000 after buying an additional 398 shares in the last quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new position in shares of BP during the second quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in shares of BP by 22.1% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 127,792 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $4,553,000 after purchasing an additional 23,166 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.01% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about BP

Here are the key news stories impacting BP this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BP began first commercial non-associated gas production at its ACG field in the Caspian Sea, opening up a new growth stream from an estimated 4-6 Tcf of recoverable gas resources. This could meaningfully expand BP’s production profile and supports the bull case for future cash flow. First Non-Associated Gas Flows at BP’s ACG Field in the Caspian Sea
• Positive Sentiment: BP also reportedly held talks to sell about £2 billion of UK North Sea assets to Ithaca Energy, which would fit management’s strategy of reshaping the portfolio and potentially strengthening the balance sheet. BP held talks to sell North Sea assets to Ithaca for £2 billion, FT reports
• Positive Sentiment: BP’s start-up of gas production at ACG is another operational milestone that highlights continued execution in Azerbaijan, reinforcing the company’s long-term growth narrative. BP starts NAG production at ACG field offshore Azerbaijan
• Neutral Sentiment: BP appointed Amanda Blanc to lead the search for its next chair, a governance update that may help clarify succession planning but does not directly change near-term fundamentals. BP tasks independent director Amanda Blanc to lead search for next chair
• Neutral Sentiment: BP is set to transfer operation of the BTC pipeline to Azerbaijan’s SOCAR on July 1, a planned contractual handover that is largely administrative. BP says it is set to transfer running of BTC pipeline to Azerbaijan’s SOCAR
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that BP may quit the North Sea after Labour’s tax increases raise concerns about policy pressure, future regional investment, and potential restructuring costs. BP considers quitting North Sea after Labour tax raid
• Negative Sentiment: A Pomerantz law firm investigation into claims on behalf of BP investors adds a headline risk that can weigh on sentiment, even though it does not yet imply wrongdoing. INVESTOR ALERT: Pomerantz Law Firm Investigates Claims On Behalf of Investors of BP p.l.c. – BP
• Negative Sentiment: Media reports of an executive departure and broader leadership churn at BP may raise concerns about internal stability during a period of strategic change. Exec exodus continues at BP as gas boss quits…

BP Price Performance

BP stock opened at $43.75 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $114.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.46, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.14. BP has a 52-week low of $28.83 and a 52-week high of $48.27. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $45.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.22.

BP (NYSE:BP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $52.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $48.50 billion. BP had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 1.62%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.53 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that BP will post 5.08 earnings per share for the current year.

BP Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.4992 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. BP’s payout ratio is presently 165.00%.

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.