Waverly Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in BP p.l.c. $BP

Waverly Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP - Free Report) by 31.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 227,828 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock after selling 105,960 shares during the period. Waverly Advisors LLC's holdings in BP were worth $8,418,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT bought a new stake in BP during the fourth quarter worth approximately $67,890,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of BP by 290.2% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,049,151 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $75,716,000 after purchasing an additional 1,524,048 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of BP by 48.8% in the 2nd quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 2,830,923 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $104,603,000 after purchasing an additional 928,617 shares during the period. Kahn Brothers Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of BP during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $23,094,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in BP during the 1st quarter valued at $28,136,000. Institutional investors own 11.01% of the company's stock.

More BP News

Here are the key news stories impacting BP this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple Zacks Strong Buy designations: BP was added to Zacks’ #1 Strong Buy lists for value, growth, momentum and income investors. These rankings reflect favorable earnings estimates, estimate revisions and trading momentum, potentially attracting additional buying interest. New Strong Buy Stocks for September 9th
• Positive Sentiment: Attractive valuation and oil exposure: Analysts highlighted BP as a potentially compelling way to benefit from high oil prices without paying a premium valuation. The company’s value profile and income potential are supporting the bullish case. Why BP Is One of the Best Oil Stocks to Buy Right Now
• Positive Sentiment: Potential asset-sale interest: BP’s North Sea operations reportedly attracted interest from several potential buyers. A sale could generate cash and support portfolio streamlining, though no transaction has been confirmed. BP North Sea Operations Garner Interest From Potential Buyers
• Positive Sentiment: Exploration growth: BP and Socar received approval to advance drilling activity in Uzbekistan, providing a potential avenue for future production and resource expansion. BP and Socar get green light for Uzbekistan drilling push
• Neutral Sentiment: Shell agreed to acquire a 30% interest in BP-operated Conifer, a deepwater Gulf of Mexico prospect. The deal validates the asset’s potential and may share development risk, but commentary also suggests Shell has stronger cash flow than BP. Could Shell’s Superior Cash Flow Make It a Better Bet Than BP?
• Negative Sentiment: Whiting refinery labor dispute: A lockout at BP’s Whiting refinery is approaching six months, highlighting ongoing labor and operational risks that could weigh on refining performance and investor confidence. BP Whiting refinery lockout nears 6 months

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on BP. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of BP from $54.00 to $48.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of BP from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Mizuho set a $53.00 price target on shares of BP in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of BP from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised shares of BP from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $46.59.

BP Price Performance

BP stock opened at $45.68 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market cap of $119.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.15. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $42.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.89. BP p.l.c. has a 1 year low of $32.72 and a 1 year high of $48.27.

BP (NYSE:BP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The oil and gas exploration company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $69.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $57.89 billion. BP had a net margin of 2.49% and a return on equity of 16.63%. The company's revenue was up 106.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.90 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that BP p.l.c. will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current year.

BP Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a $0.5196 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.6%. This is a positive change from BP's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. BP's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 100.49%.

BP Company Profile

BP p.l.c. is a global integrated energy company headquartered in London, England. Its operations span the energy value chain, including exploration and production of oil and natural gas, refining, fuel marketing, energy trading and transportation. BP also produces and markets lubricants through its Castrol brand and supplies fuels through retail networks operating under brands such as BP, Aral and ampm.

The company has operations and business relationships across multiple regions, including the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific.

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