BP p.l.c. $BP Stock: Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Decreases Stake

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC reduced its stake in shares of BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) by 8.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 397,193 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock after selling 37,486 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in BP were worth $17,473,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BP. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of BP by 15.8% during the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,410,714 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $52,307,000 after acquiring an additional 192,211 shares during the period. Readystate Asset Management LP raised its stake in shares of BP by 322.4% during the second quarter. Readystate Asset Management LP now owns 619,670 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $22,897,000 after acquiring an additional 472,974 shares in the last quarter. Kahn Brothers Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of BP during the second quarter valued at approximately $23,094,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of BP by 611.2% in the third quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 111,585 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $4,966,000 after purchasing an additional 95,896 shares during the period. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BP in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,592,000. 11.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen increased their price objective on BP from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised BP from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Mizuho upped their target price on BP from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Needham & Company LLC started coverage on BP in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of BP in a research note on Monday, October 5th. One research 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.90.

BP Price Performance

Shares of BP opened at $44.56 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.29. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $46.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.25. BP p.l.c. has a fifty-two week low of $33.22 and a fifty-two week high of $51.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $116.74 billion, a PE ratio of 6.09, a PEG ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 0.16.

BP (NYSE:BP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 30th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $3.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.66 by $0.60. The company had revenue of $68.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.14 billion. BP had a net margin of 3.74% and a return on equity of 24.67%. BP’s revenue was up 41.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.85 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that BP p.l.c. will post 8.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BP Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 13th. BP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.59%.

Trending Headlines about BP

Here are the key news stories impacting BP this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BP completed the sale of a stake in Castrol for about $6 billion. The deal advances BP’s portfolio simplification plans and provides funds that could support debt reduction, a potential balance-sheet positive. BP Completes $6B Castrol Stake Sale: A Boost to Its Balance Sheet?
• Positive Sentiment: Options activity was notably bullish: investors bought 31,614 BP call options on Tuesday, about 76% above the typical daily volume. This signals increased demand for upside exposure, though options trading does not guarantee a share-price move.
• Neutral Sentiment: BP is set to lead a substantial seismic survey in Namibia after completing a farm-in deal with Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas. The program could help identify future exploration opportunities, but any commercial benefit remains uncertain and would depend on results and further development. BP to launch big seismic shoot in Namibia after farm-in deal completes
• Neutral Sentiment: BP agreed to exit its Indonesian fuel-retail joint venture by selling its 49.9% stake to partner AKR for about $14.2 million. The move fits its portfolio-simplification efforts, but the reported sale proceeds are modest and the exit also gives up exposure to that retail business. BP sells 49.9% stake in Indonesian petrol station venture, partner firm says

BP 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.