BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest rose 18.7% in April to 10,900,653 shares (about 0.4% of shares outstanding) with a short-interest ratio of 0.7 days, indicating modest shorting activity relative to daily volume.
• BP beat Q1 expectations with $1.24 EPS vs. $0.91 expected and revenue of $52.26 billion (+11.4% YoY), and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.4992 (annualized $2.00, ~4.3% yield) though its dividend payout ratio is elevated at 164.17%.
• Analyst coverage is mixed but consensus is a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $44.39, while company concerns include rising net debt and paused buybacks that could limit near-term shareholder returns.

BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 10,900,653 shares, a growth of 18.7% from the March 31st total of 9,180,581 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 15,615,752 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.7 days. Approximately 0.4% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BP

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT bought a new stake in shares of BP during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $67,890,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund bought a new stake in shares of BP during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $17,768,000. Sagefield Capital LP raised its position in shares of BP by 125.2% during the fourth quarter. Sagefield Capital LP now owns 493,556 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $17,141,000 after buying an additional 274,381 shares during the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC raised its position in shares of BP by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 392,400 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $13,628,000 after buying an additional 22,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Altrius Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of BP by 0.6% during the third quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 278,305 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $9,590,000 after buying an additional 1,669 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 11.01% of the company's stock.

BP Price Performance

NYSE BP opened at $46.77 on Thursday. BP has a 12 month low of $27.20 and a 12 month high of $48.27. The stock has a market cap of $122.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4,672.23, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.21. The company's 50 day moving average is $43.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

BP (NYSE:BP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.33. BP had a net margin of 0.03% and a return on equity of 9.68%. The company had revenue of $52.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $48.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.53 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that BP will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

BP Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.4992 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. BP's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 164.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BP. Melius Research cut shares of BP from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $31.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of BP from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. HSBC upgraded shares of BP from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $35.10 to $45.30 in a research note on Friday, March 20th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of BP from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Evercore set a $38.00 price objective on shares of BP and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, BP currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $44.39.

More BP News

Here are the key news stories impacting BP this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 earnings and trading windfall — BP reported sharply higher Q1 underlying profit driven by “exceptional” oil trading as Middle East tensions lifted prices; results beat expectations and lifted near-term cash flow visibility. BP Q1 2026 earnings double on Iran war oil trading boom
• Positive Sentiment: Macro tailwind from higher crude — Brent spikes above $125 on escalation fears, supporting BP’s trading and upstream realizations and explaining part of today’s upside in the stock. Shell and BP rise as Brent oil price surges above $125 on fears of US escalation of Iran war
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst EPS upgrades — Erste Group raised FY2026 and FY2027 EPS views materially, reflecting better trading/margin expectations and helping underpin the stock’s momentum (Erste now sees FY2026 ~$5.04 and FY2027 ~$4.08 per share).
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend maintained — BP announced the upcoming quarterly dividend (annualized yield ~4.3%), which supports income-oriented investors while buybacks remain paused.
• Neutral Sentiment: Venezuela MOU for offshore gas exploration — BP signed a memorandum to explore the Loran offshore gas area; strategic upside if commercial, but development timelines and geopolitical complexity make near-term impact uncertain. BP, Venezuela sign deal for oil producer to explore offshore Loran gas area
• Negative Sentiment: Higher net debt and paused buybacks — CFO commentary and reporting show net debt has climbed and BP is prioritizing balance-sheet repair over buybacks for now; this caps near-term shareholder returns and raises execution risk around targeted debt reduction. BP Profit More Than Doubles, Buybacks Paused As Debt Climbs 14%
• Negative Sentiment: Operational/ESG noise — A recent flaring incident at a BP refinery is under state monitoring; likely limited financial impact but increases regulatory/operational scrutiny. Flares went off at BP refinery Sunday night, IDEM monitoring

BP Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.