BP Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:BP)

BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Traders purchased 67,824 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 58% compared to the typical daily volume of 42,907 call options.

BP Stock Down 0.1%

BP stock traded down $0.05 on Thursday, reaching $30.28. 14,189,237 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,227,712. BP has a one year low of $25.22 and a one year high of $37.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $81.36 billion, a P/E ratio of -65.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.54. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.72.

BP (NYSE:BP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $46.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.12 billion. BP had a negative net margin of 0.62% and a positive return on equity of 9.51%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.97 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that BP will post 3.53 earnings per share for the current year.

BP Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. BP's payout ratio is -413.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on BP from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group cut BP from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $29.00 price objective on BP and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on BP from $34.00 to $30.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on BP from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, BP has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $34.72.

Institutional Trading of BP

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of BP by 486.9% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,787,644 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $94,195,000 after purchasing an additional 2,312,687 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of BP by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 940,786 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $27,810,000 after acquiring an additional 38,759 shares during the period. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS grew its holdings in shares of BP by 2.7% in the first quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 477,764 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $16,144,000 after acquiring an additional 12,522 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its holdings in shares of BP by 30.2% in the first quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 444,530 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $15,020,000 after acquiring an additional 103,100 shares during the period. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of BP by 2.5% in the first quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 358,800 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $12,124,000 after acquiring an additional 8,700 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 11.01% of the company's stock.

BP Company Profile

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.