BP (NYSE:BP) Stock Sees Unusually High Call Option Buying

BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) saw some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Traders bought 31,614 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 76% compared to the typical volume of 17,959 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BP has been the topic of several research reports. TD Cowen raised their target price on BP from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on shares of BP in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Zacks Research raised shares of BP from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Weiss Ratings raised BP from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of BP from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BP currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.90.

BP Price Performance

NYSE:BP traded down $0.15 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $44.44. The stock had a trading volume of 4,339,992 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,652,692. The stock has a market capitalization of $116.41 billion, a PE ratio of 13.08, a PEG ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 0.16. BP has a 52 week low of $33.22 and a 52 week high of $51.49. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $46.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.29.

BP (NYSE:BP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 30th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $3.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.66 by $0.60. BP had a return on equity of 24.67% and a net margin of 3.74%. The firm had revenue of $68.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.85 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 41.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that BP will post 8.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BP Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be given a dividend of $0.5196 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 13th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. BP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.59%.

BP News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting BP this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BP completed a roughly $6 billion Castrol stake sale, advancing its portfolio simplification and providing funds to reduce financial obligations. The balance-sheet benefit may be tempered by the loss of part of a business asset. BP Completes $6B Castrol Stake Sale
• Neutral Sentiment: BP’s Namibian farm-in deal has completed, clearing the way for a major seismic exploration program under BP’s operatorship across three licenses. This creates potential for future discoveries, but seismic work is an early, costly step and offers no guarantee of commercial reserves. BP to launch seismic shoot in Namibia
• Negative Sentiment: BP is exiting Indonesia’s fuel-retail market by selling its 49.9% stake in the BP-AKR venture to partner AKR, reportedly for $14.2 million. The exit may simplify the portfolio, but it also gives up a retail-market presence and the reported proceeds are modest relative to BP’s broader financial needs. BP sells stake in Indonesian petrol station venture

Institutional Trading of BP

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in shares of BP in the 3rd quarter valued at about $276,000. First Financial Bankshares Inc purchased a new position in BP in the third quarter worth about $226,000. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated grew its position in BP by 36.8% in the third quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 10,888 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $485,000 after acquiring an additional 2,929 shares in the last quarter. Carlson Capital L.P. bought a new stake in BP during the third quarter worth approximately $14,503,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in BP by 13.3% during the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 18,531 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $816,000 after acquiring an additional 2,182 shares during the last quarter. 11.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About BP

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.