Quantbot Technologies LP Buys Shares of 39,237 BP p.l.c. $BP

Key Points

• Quantbot Technologies LP opened a new position in BP, purchasing 39,237 shares in Q3 valued at approximately $1.35 million.
• BP reported a surprise quarterly beat — $10.00 EPS versus $0.57 expected and $47.38 billion in revenue — yet analysts' consensus remains a Hold with an average price target of $37.35.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.4992 per share (annualized $2.00), implying a ~5.1% yield and payable March 27 to shareholders of record on Feb 20.

Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 39,237 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock, valued at approximately $1,352,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. IHT Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in BP by 3.3% in 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 period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its position in BP by 7.4% during the second quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 8,295 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $248,000 after buying an additional 568 shares in the last quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. raised its holdings in BP by 18.5% in the 3rd quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 4,765 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $164,000 after acquiring an additional 745 shares in the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association increased its position in shares of BP by 3.6% during the third quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 21,406 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $738,000 after purchasing an additional 749 shares during the period. Finally, Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in BP in the third quarter worth $26,000. Institutional investors own 11.01% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on BP shares. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $51.00 price objective on shares of BP in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Argus raised BP to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Evercore set a $38.00 target price on BP and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. HSBC cut BP from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating and set a $38.50 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of BP from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $37.35.

BP Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BP opened at $39.31 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $36.91 and a 200-day moving average of $35.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.26. BP p.l.c. has a twelve month low of $25.22 and a twelve month high of $39.56. The firm has a market cap of $103.07 billion, a PE ratio of -3,927.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.31.

BP (NYSE:BP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $10.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $9.43. BP had a net margin of 0.03% and a return on equity of 9.68%. The firm had revenue of $47.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $42.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.44 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that BP p.l.c. will post 3.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BP Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.4992 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 20th. BP's dividend payout ratio is -19,700.00%.

About BP

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.

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