Van ECK Associates Corp Acquires 1,524,048 Shares of BP p.l.c. $BP

Key Points

• Van ECK Associates increased its BP stake by 290.2% in the second quarter, acquiring 1,524,048 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 2,049,151 shares valued at approximately $75.7 million.
• BP reported quarterly earnings of $2.22 per share, exceeding estimates of $1.87, while revenue rose 106.1% year over year to $69.11 billion.
• BP raised its quarterly dividend to $0.5196, equivalent to an annualized $2.08 payout and a 4.9% yield. Analysts maintain an average “Hold” rating with a consensus price target of $46.36.

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP - Free Report) by 290.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,049,151 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,524,048 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned about 0.08% of BP worth $75,716,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BP. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in BP in the first quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of BP during the third quarter worth $43,000. LRI Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of BP by 76.2% during the fourth quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 1,276 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 552 shares during the period. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new stake in BP in the 2nd quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its stake in BP by 39.1% in the 4th quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 1,808 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the period. 11.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BP Stock Performance

Shares of BP stock opened at $42.13 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $41.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.52. BP p.l.c. has a one year low of $32.72 and a one year high of $48.27. The stock has a market cap of $110.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

BP (NYSE:BP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The oil and gas exploration company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.35. BP had a net margin of 2.49% and a return on equity of 16.63%. The company had revenue of $69.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $57.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.90 EPS. BP's revenue for the quarter was up 106.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that BP p.l.c. will post 6.08 EPS for the current year.

BP Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a $0.5196 dividend. This is a positive change from BP's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. BP's dividend payout ratio is currently 100.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on BP. Weiss Ratings raised BP from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Freedom Capital raised BP from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Argus raised BP from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $50.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Mizuho set a $53.00 price target on BP in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of BP from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BP has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $46.36.

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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