BP (NYSE:BP) Sees Large Volume Increase - Time to Buy?

Shares of BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP - Get Free Report) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Monday . Approximately 12,063,722 shares were traded 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BP shares. UBS Group downgraded shares of BP from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. 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. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating on shares of BP in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised BP from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $50.00 target price on shares of BP in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BP currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $36.73.

BP Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.64. The firm has a market cap of $77.73 billion, a PE ratio of 357.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.51.

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

BP Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. BP's dividend payout ratio is currently -413.04%.

Institutional Trading of BP

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BP. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of BP by 30.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 474,957 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $14,040,000 after purchasing an additional 110,019 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BP in the fourth quarter worth approximately $588,000. ARK & TLK Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BP during the fourth quarter worth approximately $434,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in BP by 83.3% in the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 53,360 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $1,577,000 after purchasing an additional 24,252 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Altrius Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of BP by 16.6% during the fourth quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 272,527 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $8,056,000 after buying an additional 38,751 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.01% of the company's stock.

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.