BP (NYSE:BP) Coverage Initiated at Melius Research

Key Points

• Melius Research has initiated coverage on BP (NYSE:BP) with a "buy" rating and a price target of $66.00, indicating a potential upside of 94.37% from its previous closing price.
• Analysts show mixed opinions on BP, with Morgan Stanley downgrading the rating to "underweight" and setting a target of $26.50, while Berenberg Bank upgraded it to a "strong-buy".
• BP reported earnings of $0.90 per share for the last quarter, surpassing estimates, but its revenue declined 1.4% compared to the same period last year.

Equities research analysts at Melius Research started coverage on shares of BP (NYSE:BP - Get Free Report) in a report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm set a "buy" rating and a $66.00 price target on the oil and gas exploration company's stock. Melius Research's price target would suggest a potential upside of 88.92% from the company's current price.

Several other brokerages have also commented on BP. Scotiabank upgraded shares of BP from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and set a $42.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of BP from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of BP from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Melius started coverage on shares of BP in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $66.00 price target on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on BP from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BP currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $41.77.

BP Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:BP traded up $0.1960 on Wednesday, hitting $34.9360. 2,562,026 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,998,214. The firm's 50-day moving average is $32.23 and its 200 day moving average is $31.31. The company has a market capitalization of $92.15 billion, a PE ratio of 166.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.57. BP has a 1-year low of $25.22 and a 1-year high of $35.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.21.

BP (NYSE:BP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $46.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $42.88 billion. BP had a return on equity of 9.08% and a net margin of 0.29%.The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.00 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that BP will post 3.53 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BP. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its position in BP by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 11,839 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $344,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in BP by 1.3% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 31,943 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $1,079,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC increased its position in BP by 3.3% during the second quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,513 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $375,000 after purchasing an additional 398 shares during the last quarter. NBT Bank N A NY increased its position in BP by 4.9% during the first quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 8,558 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC increased its position in BP by 6.0% during the first quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 8,022 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.01% of the company's stock.

About BP

BP p.l.c. provides carbon products and services. The company operates through Gas & Low Carbon Energy, Oil Production & Operations, and Customers & Products segments. It engages in the production of natural gas, and integrated gas and power; trading of gas; operation of onshore and offshore wind power, as well as hydrogen and carbon capture and storage facilities; trading and marketing of renewable and non-renewable power; and production of crude oil.