BP (NYSE:BP) Hits New 1-Year High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• BP shares reached a new 52-week high of $50.27, above the analyst consensus price target of $49.44. Analysts overall rate the stock “Moderate Buy,” including upgraded “overweight” and “outperform” ratings from JPMorgan and Oppenheimer.
• BP reported quarterly earnings of $2.22 per share, exceeding the $1.87 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 106.1% year over year to $69.11 billion.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.5196 per share, representing an annualized payout of $2.08 and a 4.2% yield, though its dividend payout ratio stands at a high 100.49%.

BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday. The stock traded as high as $50.27 and last traded at $50.2880, with a volume of 362,619 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $49.85.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on BP. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of BP in a research report on Friday, September 4th. DA Davidson set a $49.00 target price on shares of BP in a research report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of BP from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on BP in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of BP from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $49.44.

BP Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $130.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.33, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.20. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

BP (NYSE:BP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The oil and gas exploration company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.35. BP had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 2.49%. The company had revenue of $69.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $57.89 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.90 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 106.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that BP p.l.c. will post 7.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BP Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th were paid a dividend of $0.5196 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. This is an increase from BP's previous quarterly dividend of $0.4992. BP's dividend payout ratio is 100.49%.

Institutional Trading of BP

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its holdings in BP by 48.8% during 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 buying an additional 928,617 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in BP by 290.2% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in BP by 15.8% in the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,410,714 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $52,307,000 after buying an additional 192,211 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in BP during the first quarter valued at $28,136,000. Finally, Kahn Brothers Group Inc. purchased a new position in BP in the second quarter valued at about $23,094,000. 11.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BP Company Profile

BP p.l.c. is a global integrated energy company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. Its operations span the exploration, development and production of oil and natural gas, as well as the processing, refining, transportation and marketing of energy products.

Through its businesses, BP supplies fuels for road transportation, aviation and marine use, along with lubricants marketed under the Castrol brand. The company also operates retail fuel and convenience locations and provides energy products and services to commercial and industrial customers.

BP has expanded its activities beyond traditional hydrocarbons to include lower-carbon businesses such as renewable power, bioenergy, electric-vehicle charging and hydrogen.

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