Freedom Capital Upgrades BP (NYSE:BP) to “Hold”

BP (NYSE:BP) was upgraded by research analysts at Freedom Capital from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

BP has been the subject of several other research reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of BP from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. Zacks Research lowered shares of BP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 25th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on BP from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Mizuho set a $53.00 price target on BP in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded BP from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BP has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.36.

BP Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of BP stock opened at $41.61 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $41.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $108.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.30, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.16. BP has a fifty-two week low of $32.72 and a fifty-two week high of $48.27.

BP (NYSE:BP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $69.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $57.89 billion. BP had a net margin of 2.49% and a return on equity of 16.63%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 106.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that BP will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in shares of BP by 4.2% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,588 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its holdings in BP by 7.4% in 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 purchasing an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC raised its position in BP by 3.3% in the second quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,513 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $375,000 after purchasing an additional 398 shares during the period. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new position in BP during the second quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its position in shares of BP by 7.0% during the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 5,738 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $198,000 after buying an additional 374 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.01% of the company’s stock.

Key BP News

Here are the key news stories impacting BP this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BP agreed to acquire Woodside Energy’s 70% stake in the Calypso gas project offshore Trinidad and Tobago, giving BP full ownership and operatorship of the early-stage deepwater development. The deal could strengthen BP’s regional gas position and future production pipeline, although the project remains at an early stage. BP to acquire Woodside’s stake in Calypso project
• Positive Sentiment: BP is pursuing sales of its Archaea Energy renewable natural gas business and other noncore assets, including North Sea interests. The moves support CEO Meg O’Neill’s strategy to simplify the portfolio, focus capital on higher-priority projects and potentially improve profitability. BP to sell landfill RNG business Archaea Energy
• Neutral Sentiment: Piper Sandler raised its BP price target from $42 to $43 while maintaining a “neutral” rating. The modest increase indicates limited near-term conviction despite acknowledging some potential upside. Piper Sandler raises BP price target
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts highlighted BP’s North Sea asset sale, updated production guidance and higher interim dividend following a strong first half. The transactions may improve capital allocation, but investors are assessing whether BP’s recent share-price gains already reflect the benefits. BP sells North Sea assets
• Neutral Sentiment: A potential Brazilian megaproject could provide BP with a long-term growth region as existing pre-salt developments mature, but the opportunity remains dependent on exploration and project execution. Brazil megaproject
• Negative Sentiment: BP’s former finance chief warned that the UK Treasury could lose billions in tax revenue and relief from Labour’s planned North Sea shutdown. The report underscores regulatory and fiscal uncertainty surrounding BP’s UK operations. North Sea shutdown to cost Treasury billions
• Negative Sentiment: A nearly five-month labor lockout at BP’s Whiting refinery remains an operational and employee-relations concern, potentially creating disruption and additional costs. BP Whiting refinery labor lockout

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.