BP (NYSE:BP) Sees Strong Trading Volume - Should You Buy?

BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP - Get Free Report) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Monday . 12,063,722 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 26% from the previous session's volume of 9,592,564 shares.The stock last traded at $28.72 and had previously closed at $28.12.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded BP from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. TD Securities restated a "hold" rating and set a $36.00 target price (down previously from $40.00) on shares of BP in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. DZ Bank lowered shares of BP from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of BP in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on BP from $30.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $36.73.

BP Stock Up 4.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.25. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.60. The firm has a market cap of $80.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 372.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.51.

BP (NYSE:BP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $46.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.12 billion. BP had a return on equity of 10.96% and a net margin of 0.20%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.97 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that BP p.l.c. will post 3.53 EPS for the current year.

BP Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.45%. BP's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -413.04%.

Institutional Trading of BP

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BP. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of BP by 486.9% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,787,644 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $94,195,000 after buying an additional 2,312,687 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in BP by 5,751.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 207,606 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $7,015,000 after purchasing an additional 204,058 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its position in shares of BP by 30.2% during the 1st quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 444,530 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $15,020,000 after purchasing an additional 103,100 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of BP by 217.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 107,282 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $3,171,000 after buying an additional 73,478 shares during the period. Finally, Meritage Portfolio Management raised its holdings in BP by 54.7% in the 1st quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 163,147 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $5,513,000 after acquiring an additional 57,719 shares in the last quarter. 11.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About BP

BP p.l.c. provides carbon products and services. The company operates through Gas & Low Carbon Energy, Oil Production & Operations, and Customers & Products segments. It engages in the production of natural gas, and integrated gas and power; trading of gas; operation of onshore and offshore wind power, as well as hydrogen and carbon capture and storage facilities; trading and marketing of renewable and non-renewable power; and production of crude oil.