BP p.l.c. $BP Stock Sold by Canal Insurance CO

Canal Insurance CO decreased its stake in shares of BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) by 32.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 135,400 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock after selling 64,600 shares during the period. BP accounts for approximately 1.4% of Canal Insurance CO’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Canal Insurance CO’s holdings in BP were worth $5,956,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Net Worth Advisory Group boosted its stake in shares of BP by 21.2% in the 3rd quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 10,202 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $454,000 after buying an additional 1,786 shares during the period. Investment Research Partners LLC grew its position in shares of BP by 6.4% during the third quarter. Investment Research Partners LLC now owns 8,967 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $394,000 after buying an additional 537 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BP during the third quarter worth approximately $231,000. Secure Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BP during the third quarter worth approximately $216,000. Finally, Abel Hall LLC raised its holdings in BP by 8.0% in the third quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 7,669 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $337,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of BP from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of BP from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Zacks Research raised shares of BP from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. Needham & Company LLC started coverage on shares of BP in a report on Thursday, October 1st. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of BP in a research report on Monday, October 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.44.

BP Stock Down 0.4%

BP traded down $0.21 on Tuesday, reaching $49.23. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,461,021 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,782,177. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $44.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market capitalization of $128.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 0.20. BP p.l.c. has a fifty-two week low of $33.01 and a fifty-two week high of $50.27.

BP (NYSE:BP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The oil and gas exploration company reported $2.22 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $57.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.90 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 106.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that BP p.l.c. will post 7.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BP Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 18th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th were given a $0.5196 dividend. This is a positive change from BP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.4992. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. BP’s payout ratio is 100.49%.

BP Company Profile

BP p.l.c. is a global integrated energy company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. Its operations span the exploration, development and production of oil and natural gas, as well as the processing, refining, transportation and marketing of energy products.

Through its businesses, BP supplies fuels for road transportation, aviation and marine use, along with lubricants marketed under the Castrol brand. The company also operates retail fuel and convenience locations and provides energy products and services to commercial and industrial customers.

BP has expanded its activities beyond traditional hydrocarbons to include lower-carbon businesses such as renewable power, bioenergy, electric-vehicle charging and hydrogen.