Corient IA LLC Takes $338,000 Position in BP p.l.c. $BP

Key Points

• Corient IA LLC has purchased 10,000 shares of BP p.l.c. worth approximately $338,000, reflecting growing interest among institutional investors in the oil and gas exploration company.
• Analysts have mixed views on BP, with several boosting their ratings; Berenberg Bank upgraded BP to "strong-buy" while Morgan Stanley downgraded it to "underweight".
• BP announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.4942 per share, representing an annualized yield of 5.8% and a substantial payout ratio of 942.86%.

Corient IA LLC purchased a new position in BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 10,000 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock, valued at approximately $338,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BP. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in BP by 2,250.0% in the 1st quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 940 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in BP in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Missouri Trust & Investment Co lifted its stake in BP by 400.0% during the 1st quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 1,000 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in BP by 178.0% during the 1st 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 acquiring an additional 662 shares during the period. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its stake in BP by 580.8% during the 1st 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 acquiring an additional 1,841 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 11.01% of the company's stock.

BP Stock Performance

BP stock traded up $0.1350 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $34.0150. The stock had a trading volume of 4,931,828 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,074,599. The firm's fifty day moving average is $32.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.28. The company has a market capitalization of $89.72 billion, a PE ratio of 161.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.57. BP p.l.c. has a 52-week low of $25.22 and a 52-week high of $35.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

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

BP Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.4942 per share. This is an increase from BP's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.8%. BP's payout ratio is 942.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on BP. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of BP from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Melius assumed coverage on shares of BP in a research note on Wednesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $66.00 target price on the stock. Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of BP in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $66.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of BP from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $29.00 price objective on shares of BP and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $41.77.

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.