Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Trims Stock Position in BP p.l.c. $BP

Key Points

• Wedge Capital cut its BP stake by 22.8% in Q4, selling 84,679 shares and retaining 286,945 shares valued at roughly $9.97 million.
• BP beat quarterly estimates with $0.60 EPS (vs. $0.57) and $47.38 billion revenue (vs. $42.19B), and paid a quarterly dividend of $0.4992 (annualized $2.00) for a ~4.3% yield.
• Analysts' consensus is a "Hold" with an average target of $40.18; BP trades near a 12‑month high of $46.79 and has a market cap around $122.5 billion.

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lowered its stake in shares of BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP - Free Report) by 22.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 286,945 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock after selling 84,679 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC's holdings in BP were worth $9,966,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BP. Strategic Advocates LLC purchased a new stake in BP in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of BP in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BP during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of BP during the 3rd quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its position in shares of BP by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 1,300 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 650 shares during the period. 11.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BP Stock Up 1.2%

BP stock opened at $46.71 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.63. The company has a market capitalization of $122.46 billion, a P/E ratio of -4,665.83, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.31. BP p.l.c. has a twelve month low of $25.22 and a twelve month high of $46.79.

BP (NYSE:BP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $47.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $42.19 billion. BP had a net margin of 0.03% and a return on equity of 9.68%. The firm's revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.44 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that BP p.l.c. will post 3.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BP Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 20th were paid a $0.4992 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 20th. BP's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -19,800.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BP has been the subject of a number of research reports. Argus raised BP to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered BP from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $38.50 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Evercore set a $38.00 target price on shares of BP and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of BP from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Melius Research downgraded shares of BP from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $31.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $40.18.

BP 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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