BP p.l.c. $BP Shares Sold by Engineers Gate Manager LP

Engineers Gate Manager LP lowered its stake in shares of BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) by 23.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 813,923 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock after selling 250,708 shares during the quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP’s holdings in BP were worth $30,074,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BP. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT purchased a new stake in BP during the fourth quarter valued at about $67,890,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of BP by 290.2% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,049,151 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $75,716,000 after acquiring an additional 1,524,048 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its holdings in BP by 48.8% in the second quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 2,830,923 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $104,603,000 after acquiring an additional 928,617 shares in the last quarter. Kahn Brothers Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of BP in the 2nd quarter worth about $23,094,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of BP during the first quarter worth about $28,136,000. 11.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key BP News

Here are the key news stories impacting BP this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple Zacks Strong Buy designations: BP was added to Zacks’ #1 Strong Buy lists for value, growth, momentum and income investors. These rankings reflect favorable earnings estimates, estimate revisions and trading momentum, potentially attracting additional buying interest. New Strong Buy Stocks for September 9th
• Positive Sentiment: Attractive valuation and oil exposure: Analysts highlighted BP as a potentially compelling way to benefit from high oil prices without paying a premium valuation. The company’s value profile and income potential are supporting the bullish case. Why BP Is One of the Best Oil Stocks to Buy Right Now
• Positive Sentiment: Potential asset-sale interest: BP’s North Sea operations reportedly attracted interest from several potential buyers. A sale could generate cash and support portfolio streamlining, though no transaction has been confirmed. BP North Sea Operations Garner Interest From Potential Buyers
• Positive Sentiment: Exploration growth: BP and Socar received approval to advance drilling activity in Uzbekistan, providing a potential avenue for future production and resource expansion. BP and Socar get green light for Uzbekistan drilling push
• Neutral Sentiment: Shell agreed to acquire a 30% interest in BP-operated Conifer, a deepwater Gulf of Mexico prospect. The deal validates the asset’s potential and may share development risk, but commentary also suggests Shell has stronger cash flow than BP. Could Shell’s Superior Cash Flow Make It a Better Bet Than BP?
• Negative Sentiment: Whiting refinery labor dispute: A lockout at BP’s Whiting refinery is approaching six months, highlighting ongoing labor and operational risks that could weigh on refining performance and investor confidence. BP Whiting refinery lockout nears 6 months

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on BP. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on BP from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on BP from $54.00 to $48.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Mizuho set a $53.00 target price on shares of BP in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of BP from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of BP in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, BP has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.59.

BP Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BP opened at $45.68 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $119.65 billion, a PE ratio of 22.28, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.15. BP p.l.c. has a 1-year low of $32.72 and a 1-year high of $48.27. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $42.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.89.

BP (NYSE:BP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The oil and gas exploration company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.35. BP had a net margin of 2.49% and a return on equity of 16.63%. The company had revenue of $69.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $57.89 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.90 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 106.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that BP p.l.c. will post 6.45 EPS for the current year.

BP Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.5196 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This is a positive change from BP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. BP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.49%.

About BP

BP p.l.c. is a global integrated energy company headquartered in London, England. Its operations span the energy value chain, including exploration and production of oil and natural gas, refining, fuel marketing, energy trading and transportation. BP also produces and markets lubricants through its Castrol brand and supplies fuels through retail networks operating under brands such as BP, Aral and ampm.

The company has operations and business relationships across multiple regions, including the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific.