BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) Given Average Rating of "Hold" by Analysts

Shares of BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Hold" from the twenty-one ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, fourteen have issued a hold recommendation, two have issued a buy recommendation and three have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $35.28.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TD Securities reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $36.00 target price (down previously from $40.00) on shares of BP in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of BP from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. UBS Group lowered shares of BP from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $29.00 price objective on shares of BP and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on BP from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BP

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of BP by 2,250.0% in the first quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 940 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of BP in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Missouri Trust & Investment Co lifted its position in BP by 400.0% during the first quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 1,000 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC increased its stake in BP by 178.0% in the first quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 1,034 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 662 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its stake in shares of BP by 580.8% during the first quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 2,158 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 1,841 shares in the last quarter. 11.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BP Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of BP stock opened at $31.12 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.66. BP has a 12-month low of $25.22 and a 12-month high of $37.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $84.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -67.65, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.54.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $46.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.12 billion. BP had a negative net margin of 0.62% and a positive return on equity of 9.51%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.97 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that BP will post 3.53 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. BP's dividend payout ratio is currently -413.04%.

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.

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