BP (NYSE:BP) Rating Increased to Buy at Argus

Key Points

• Argus upgraded BP from hold to buy and set a $50 price target, implying about 13.4% upside from the prior close.
• BP shares rose 1.7% to $44.08 in Monday trading, while the stock remains below its 52-week high of $48.27.
• The upgrade comes amid generally positive analyst sentiment, with BP also benefiting from strong quarterly earnings and recent news flow that could support the stock, including higher oil prices and additions to strong-buy lists.

BP (NYSE:BP - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Argus from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report released on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has a $50.00 target price on the oil and gas exploration company's stock. Argus' price objective indicates a potential upside of 13.42% from the company's previous close.

BP has been the subject of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on BP from $39.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. BNP Paribas Exane set a $57.00 price target on BP and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Zacks Research upgraded BP from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. UBS Group raised shares of BP from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of BP from $41.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BP presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $44.82.

BP Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:BP traded up $0.74 on Monday, hitting $44.08. 785,775 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,894,429. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $44.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $115.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.18. BP has a 12 month low of $28.41 and a 12 month high of $48.27.

BP (NYSE:BP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.24. BP had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 1.62%.The company had revenue of $52.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.50 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.53 EPS. BP's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that BP will post 5.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BP

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of BP. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT purchased a new position in BP during the fourth quarter worth approximately $67,890,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund acquired a new stake in shares of BP in the 4th quarter worth $17,768,000. Sagefield Capital LP raised its holdings in shares of BP by 125.2% during the 4th quarter. Sagefield Capital LP now owns 493,556 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $17,141,000 after acquiring an additional 274,381 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of BP by 20.7% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 432,646 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $20,334,000 after purchasing an additional 74,243 shares during the period. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC increased its position in BP by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 392,400 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $13,628,000 after purchasing an additional 22,100 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.01% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting BP

Here are the key news stories impacting BP this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BP was added to Zacks Rank #1 “Strong Buy” lists for value, income, and growth stocks, which may boost investor interest by reinforcing BP’s appeal across multiple styles of investing. Best Value Stocks to Buy for May 11th
• Positive Sentiment: Reuters reported that Nicolas Tardieu, a former Scotiabank executive, joined BP’s crude trading team in Singapore, a move that could strengthen the company’s trading operations. MOVE Ex-Scotiabank exec Nicolas Tardieu joins BP crude trading team
• Positive Sentiment: Oil prices jumped about 5% after the U.S. rejected Iran’s counter-offer, and BP was mentioned among London stocks leading gains, which is supportive for an integrated oil major like BP. FTSE 100 Live: Compass, Shell and BP lead London stocks higher, Victrex tumbles

BP Company Profile

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.

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