BP Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:BP)

Key Points

• BP experienced a significant increase in options trading, with 43,499 call options purchased, representing a 54% rise from the average daily volume.
• The stock price rose by 2.3%, reaching $32.49, as BP's trading volume also exceeded its typical levels.
• Analyst ratings for BP are mixed, with two sell ratings, fourteen holds, one buy, and one strong buy, leading to a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $35.50.

BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Investors bought 43,499 call options on the company. Thisisanincreaseofapproximately54% compared to the average daily volume of 28,313 call options.

Institutional Trading of BP

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nvwm LLC purchased a new position in shares of BP in the second quarter worth about $87,000. TIAA Trust National Association raised its position in BP by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 20,657 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $618,000 after buying an additional 627 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its stake in BP by 19.6% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 8,010 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $240,000 after acquiring an additional 1,312 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its stake in shares of BP by 37.4% in the second quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 66,910 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $2,003,000 after acquiring an additional 18,211 shares during the period. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC lifted its position in BP by 146.6% during the second quarter. Rossby Financial LCC now owns 1,736 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Scotiabank restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $34.00 price objective (up from $30.00) on shares of BP in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of BP from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $26.50 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $29.00 target price on shares of BP and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of BP from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group downgraded shares of BP from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $35.17.

BP Stock Down 0.1%

BP stock traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $34.17. The stock had a trading volume of 2,797,912 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,324,438. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $90.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 162.71, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.57. BP has a 52 week low of $25.22 and a 52 week high of $35.54. The business's 50 day moving average price is $31.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.10.

BP (NYSE:BP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $46.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $42.88 billion. BP had a return on equity of 9.08% and a net margin of 0.29%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.00 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that BP will post 3.53 EPS for the current year.

BP Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $0.4942 dividend. This represents a $1.98 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This is a positive change from BP's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. BP's payout ratio is currently 904.76%.

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.