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

BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Hold" by the twenty-one research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $35.17.

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group downgraded shares of BP from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of BP from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley cut BP from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $26.50 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, May 12th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on BP from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on BP from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BP

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of BP by 2,250.0% during 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 buying an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of BP during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Missouri Trust & Investment Co grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of BP by 178.0% during 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 buying an additional 662 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its holdings 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 valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 1,841 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.01% of the company's stock.

BP Stock Up 3.6%

BP stock opened at $32.65 on Monday. BP has a twelve month low of $25.22 and a twelve month high of $35.83. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $30.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.88. The company has a market capitalization of $87.74 billion, a P/E ratio of -70.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

BP (NYSE:BP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.53 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate 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 was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.97 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that BP will post 3.53 EPS for the current year.

BP Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. BP's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -413.04%.

BP Company Profile

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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