BP (NYSE:BP) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $43.02 and last traded at $42.99, with a volume of 1400217 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $42.67.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on BP. Evercore set a $38.00 price target on BP and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded BP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Freedom Capital cut BP from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of BP in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, HSBC downgraded BP from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $38.50 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.58.

BP Stock Up 1.3%

The firm has a market capitalization of $113.36 billion, a PE ratio of -4,319.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $37.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.92.

BP (NYSE:BP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $10.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $9.43. BP had a return on equity of 9.68% and a net margin of 0.03%.The firm had revenue of $47.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $42.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.44 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that BP p.l.c. will post 3.53 earnings per share for the current year.

BP Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Trading of BP

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its position in shares of BP by 6.7% in the second quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 77,974 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $2,334,000 after buying an additional 4,887 shares in the last quarter. Alteri Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of BP during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $237,000. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in shares of BP by 4.2% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,588 shares in the last quarter. Vestor Capital LLC raised its stake in BP by 2,705.2% during the second quarter. Vestor Capital LLC now owns 57,983 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $1,735,000 after purchasing an additional 55,916 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in BP during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.01% of the company’s stock.

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.