Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on BP (NYSE:BP)

BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) was the target of unusually large options trading on Monday. Traders bought 29,247 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 51% compared to the typical volume of 19,376 call options.

BP Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of BP stock traded up $0.53 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $42.68. 8,669,119 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,077,495. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $111.80 billion, a PE ratio of 20.82, a PEG ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.15. BP has a 1-year low of $32.72 and a 1-year high of $48.27. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $41.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.54.

BP (NYSE:BP) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. 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 company had revenue of $69.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $57.89 billion. BP had a net margin of 2.49% and a return on equity of 16.63%. The company’s revenue was up 106.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that BP will post 6.08 EPS for the current year.

BP Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a $0.5196 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.9%. This is a positive change from BP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. BP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada raised BP from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Freedom Capital upgraded BP from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Argus upgraded BP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of BP from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of BP from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BP presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.36.

Institutional Trading of BP

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BP. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its stake in BP by 48.8% during the second quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 2,830,923 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $104,603,000 after purchasing an additional 928,617 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of BP by 290.2% in the 2nd 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 buying an additional 1,524,048 shares in the last quarter. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT bought a new position in shares of BP during the 4th quarter worth approximately $67,890,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in BP by 15.8% in the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,410,714 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $52,307,000 after buying an additional 192,211 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kahn Brothers Group Inc. bought a new stake in BP in the second quarter valued at $23,094,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.