BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) Receives $35.28 Consensus PT from Brokerages

BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the twenty-two research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $35.28.

A number of brokerages have commented on BP. TD Securities reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $36.00 price target (down previously from $40.00) on shares of BP in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. DZ Bank lowered shares of BP from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wall Street Zen cut BP from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded BP from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered BP from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, March 19th.

BP Stock Performance

BP traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $29.07. 4,507,022 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,784,274. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 363.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.51. BP has a 52-week low of $25.22 and a 52-week high of $37.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company's fifty day moving average price is $29.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.57.

BP (NYSE:BP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.03). BP had a net margin of 0.20% and a return on equity of 10.96%. The company had revenue of $46.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.12 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.97 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that BP will post 3.53 EPS for the current year.

BP Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. BP's payout ratio is -413.04%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BP

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its stake in BP by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 11,839 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $344,000 after buying an additional 380 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of BP by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 31,943 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $1,079,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. NBT Bank N A NY boosted its stake in shares of BP by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 8,558 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of BP by 6.0% during the first quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 8,022 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $271,000 after buying an additional 451 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank & Trust Co increased its holdings in BP by 24.9% in the 1st quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 2,648 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 528 shares in the last quarter. 11.01% of the stock is 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.