BP (NYSE:BP) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded BP from a "buy" to a "strong-buy", while the MarketBeat consensus remains a Moderate Buy with an average target price of $44.39 and some analysts setting targets as high as $58.
• BP beat expectations in the latest quarter, reporting $1.24 EPS versus $1.00 expected and $52.26 billion in revenue (up 11.4% year-over-year), supporting earnings momentum and cash generation.
• Potential upside comes from rising Brent prices and a preliminary MoU on an offshore Venezuelan gas project, but near-term risks include a review/possible sale of UK North Sea assets and a recent refinery incident that could hit sentiment or costs.

BP (NYSE:BP - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on BP from $41.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Argus upgraded BP to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Morgan Stanley upgraded BP from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $49.40 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of BP in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of BP from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $35.10 to $45.30 in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and three 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 an average target price of $44.39.

BP Trading Down 2.1%

NYSE:BP opened at $46.39 on Friday. BP has a 52 week low of $27.51 and a 52 week high of $48.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.22. The firm's fifty day moving average is $43.95 and its 200-day moving average is $38.60. The firm has a market cap of $121.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.19.

BP (NYSE:BP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $52.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.50 billion. BP had a net margin of 1.62% and a return on equity of 12.06%. BP's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.53 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that BP will post 5.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of BP

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of BP in the 3rd quarter worth $1,352,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in shares of BP by 22.1% in the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 127,792 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $4,553,000 after acquiring an additional 23,166 shares in the last quarter. United Community Bank increased its position in shares of BP by 173.8% during the third quarter. United Community Bank now owns 29,086 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $1,002,000 after acquiring an additional 18,463 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of BP in the 3rd quarter worth about $793,000. Finally, HighPoint Advisor Group LLC raised its position in BP by 10.2% in the third quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 79,344 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $2,734,000 after acquiring an additional 7,376 shares during the period. 11.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More BP News

Here are the key news stories impacting BP this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BP posted stronger-than-expected quarterly results and revenue growth, which supports earnings momentum and cash generation. Results: BP p.l.c. Exceeded Expectations
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts (Erste Group) recently raised FY2026/FY2027 EPS forecasts for BP, signaling improved earnings visibility that can support the stock over time. MarketBeat - BP Research
• Positive Sentiment: Brent crude has surged on Middle East escalation fears, boosting sector revenue prospects and providing a tailwind to BP's upstream margins. Shell and BP rise as Brent surges
• Positive Sentiment: BP signed a preliminary MoU with Venezuela on the Cocuina-Manakin offshore gas project, opening a potential growth avenue in gas. BP signs MoU with Venezuela
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro commentary suggests oil markets are again driving the economic narrative, which benefits integrated energy names like BP but also increases cyclical volatility. Oil replacing interest rates
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple reports say BP is reviewing UK North Sea assets and may sell or exit part/all operations as the new CEO evaluates high windfall taxes — this creates near-term uncertainty, could trigger asset sales at discounted prices, and risks write-downs. BP Reviews UK North Sea Assets (Bloomberg) BP considers exit - Reuters
• Negative Sentiment: An operational incident (flares) at a BP refinery drew regulator attention — a reminder of operational and regulatory risks that can affect costs and near-term sentiment. Flares at BP refinery

About BP

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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