StockNews.com Downgrades BP (NYSE:BP) to Hold

StockNews.com lowered shares of BP (NYSE:BP) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on BP. Royal Bank of Canada lowered BP from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. UBS Group upgraded BP to a strong-buy rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on BP from $47.00 to $42.00 and set a sector outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of BP in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an outperform rating and a $57.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Erste Group Bank reissued a hold rating on shares of BP in a research report on Friday, June 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, BP currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $44.23.

BP Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of BP opened at $32.76 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.04. BP has a 1 year low of $30.67 and a 1 year high of $40.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

BP (NYSE:BP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.08. BP had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 13.83%. The firm had revenue of $47.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.89 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that BP will post 3.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BP Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. This is a positive change from BP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. BP’s payout ratio is 59.56%.

Institutional Trading of BP

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in BP in the second quarter worth about $75,000. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of BP in the second quarter worth $237,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of BP by 3.4% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 15,087 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $534,000 after buying an additional 498 shares during the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC raised its stake in BP by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 360,050 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $12,998,000 after acquiring an additional 7,850 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in BP during the 2nd quarter worth about $264,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.