Ping Capital Management Inc. Takes Position in BP p.l.c. $BP

Key Points

• Ping Capital Management Inc. has acquired a new stake in BP p.l.c., purchasing 15,000 shares valued at approximately $449,000 during the 2nd quarter.
• BP recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.4942 per share, which represents an annual yield of 5.8% and a significant payout ratio of 942.86%.
• Analysts have a generally positive outlook on BP, with target prices ranging from $37.00 to $66.00 and an average rating of "Moderate Buy."

Ping Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 15,000 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock, valued at approximately $449,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co lifted its stake in shares of BP by 400.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of BP by 178.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 662 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of BP by 743.3% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 1,754 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 1,546 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its stake in shares of BP by 580.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,841 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.01% of the company's stock.

BP Price Performance

Shares of BP stock opened at $33.90 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 161.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.54. BP p.l.c. has a 1-year low of $25.22 and a 1-year high of $35.88. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $34.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.60.

BP (NYSE:BP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $42.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.00 earnings per share. BP's revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that BP p.l.c. will post 3.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BP Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on BP. Scotiabank raised shares of BP from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and set a $42.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Melius Research began coverage on shares of BP in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $66.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of BP from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. DZ Bank raised shares of BP from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Melius assumed coverage on shares of BP in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $66.00 target price for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, BP currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $42.05.

BP Company Profile

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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