BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $44.23.

Several brokerages have recently commented on BP. Barclays upgraded BP to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Raymond James raised their price target on BP from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of BP in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on BP from $41.00 to $39.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Argus upgraded BP to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday.

BP Stock Performance

BP stock opened at $34.08 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.57. BP has a twelve month low of $33.52 and a twelve month high of $40.84. The firm has a market cap of $94.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.68, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.65.

BP (NYSE:BP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.08. BP had a return on equity of 13.83% and a net margin of 3.60%. The business had revenue of $47.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that BP will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current year.

BP Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This is a positive change from BP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.63%. BP’s payout ratio is presently 59.56%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BP

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BP during the first quarter worth about $32,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in BP in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. First United Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in BP in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in BP in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Guardian Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in BP by 576.0% in the fourth quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,129 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 962 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.