Sound Shore Management Inc. CT Purchases New Stake in BP p.l.c. $BP

Key Points

• Sound Shore Management disclosed a new stake in BP, buying 1,954,785 shares valued at about $67.9 million in the fourth quarter, giving it roughly 0.07% ownership of the company.
• BP’s recent operational updates were mostly positive, including the start of first commercial non-associated gas production at its ACG field in the Caspian Sea, which could add a meaningful new growth stream.
• The company also has a mixed backdrop of portfolio and governance developments, including reported talks to sell £2 billion of North Sea assets, along with analyst sentiment that currently sits at a Moderate Buy consensus target of $46.14.

Sound Shore Management Inc. CT bought a new position in shares of BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,954,785 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock, valued at approximately $67,890,000. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT owned 0.07% of BP as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in BP during the third quarter worth about $1,352,000. Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its position in 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 worth $13,628,000 after purchasing an additional 22,100 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in BP by 22.1% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 127,792 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $4,553,000 after purchasing an additional 23,166 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in BP during the third quarter worth about $793,000. Finally, Park National Corp OH bought a new position in BP during the fourth quarter worth about $230,000. Institutional investors own 11.01% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting BP

Here are the key news stories impacting BP this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BP began first commercial non-associated gas production at its ACG field in the Caspian Sea, opening up a new growth stream from an estimated 4-6 Tcf of recoverable gas resources. This could meaningfully expand BP’s production profile and supports the bull case for future cash flow. First Non-Associated Gas Flows at BP's ACG Field in the Caspian Sea
• Positive Sentiment: BP also reportedly held talks to sell about £2 billion of UK North Sea assets to Ithaca Energy, which would fit management’s strategy of reshaping the portfolio and potentially strengthening the balance sheet. BP held talks to sell North Sea assets to Ithaca for £2 billion, FT reports
• Positive Sentiment: BP’s start-up of gas production at ACG is another operational milestone that highlights continued execution in Azerbaijan, reinforcing the company’s long-term growth narrative. BP starts NAG production at ACG field offshore Azerbaijan
• Neutral Sentiment: BP appointed Amanda Blanc to lead the search for its next chair, a governance update that may help clarify succession planning but does not directly change near-term fundamentals. BP tasks independent director Amanda Blanc to lead search for next chair
• Neutral Sentiment: BP is set to transfer operation of the BTC pipeline to Azerbaijan’s SOCAR on July 1, a planned contractual handover that is largely administrative. BP says it is set to transfer running of BTC pipeline to Azerbaijan's SOCAR
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that BP may quit the North Sea after Labour’s tax increases raise concerns about policy pressure, future regional investment, and potential restructuring costs. BP considers quitting North Sea after Labour tax raid
• Negative Sentiment: A Pomerantz law firm investigation into claims on behalf of BP investors adds a headline risk that can weigh on sentiment, even though it does not yet imply wrongdoing. INVESTOR ALERT: Pomerantz Law Firm Investigates Claims On Behalf of Investors of BP p.l.c. - BP
• Negative Sentiment: Media reports of an executive departure and broader leadership churn at BP may raise concerns about internal stability during a period of strategic change. Exec exodus continues at BP as gas boss quits...

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BP. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of BP from $41.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Freedom Capital lowered shares of BP from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of BP from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of BP from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of BP from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $49.40 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.14.

BP Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of BP stock opened at $43.75 on Thursday. BP p.l.c. has a 12-month low of $28.83 and a 12-month high of $48.27. The company has a market cap of $114.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.46, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company's 50-day moving average price is $45.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.07.

BP (NYSE:BP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.24. BP had a net margin of 1.62% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The firm had revenue of $52.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.53 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that BP p.l.c. will post 5.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BP Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a $0.4992 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. BP's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 165.00%.

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.

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