BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Key Points

• BP p.l.c. experienced a **35.9% decline in short interest** in September, bringing the total to **9.21 million shares short sold**, with a days-to-cover ratio of **1.1 days**.
• The company has recently **increased its quarterly dividend** from $0.48 to $0.4942, representing an annualized dividend of $1.98 and a yield of **5.8%**.
• Analysts have issued a mixed range of ratings for BP, with the current consensus labeled as a **"Moderate Buy"** and a price target averaging **$42.05** per share.

BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP - Get Free Report) saw a large decline in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totaling 9,210,000 shares, a decline of 35.9% from the August 31st total of 14,360,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 8,560,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.1 days. Currently, 0.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Currently, 0.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 8,560,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.1 days.

Institutional Trading of BP

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of BP by 32.0% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,273 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $216,000 after buying an additional 1,522 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of BP by 60.7% in the second quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 8,134 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $243,000 after buying an additional 3,072 shares during the last quarter. Rexford Capital Inc. acquired a new position in BP during the 2nd quarter valued at $209,000. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new position in BP during the 2nd quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, IHT Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in BP by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,513 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $375,000 after purchasing an additional 398 shares during the last quarter. 11.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of BP in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Melius began coverage on shares of BP in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $66.00 price target on the stock. Melius Research began coverage on shares of BP in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $66.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of BP from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded shares of BP from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and set a $42.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $42.05.

BP Stock Up 0.9%

BP stock opened at $34.16 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $89.97 billion, a PE ratio of 162.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.21. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $34.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.58. BP has a twelve month low of $25.22 and a twelve month high of $35.88.

BP (NYSE:BP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $46.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $42.88 billion. BP had a net margin of 0.29% and a return on equity of 9.08%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.00 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that BP will post 3.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BP Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a $0.4942 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This is a positive change from BP's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $1.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.8%. BP's dividend payout ratio is presently 942.86%.

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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