Quent Capital LLC Makes New Investment in BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP)

Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,058 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in BP during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of BP by 12.4% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,097 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $112,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of BP by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 43,064 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $1,555,000 after acquiring an additional 2,083 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in BP by 10.1% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 14,589 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $566,000 after acquiring an additional 1,344 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in BP during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. 11.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BP Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BP traded up $0.39 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $33.33. The company had a trading volume of 2,419,533 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,614,763. BP p.l.c. has a one year low of $32.51 and a one year high of $40.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $35.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.56. The firm has a market cap of $92.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.32, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.65.

BP (NYSE:BP) last issued 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. The firm had revenue of $47.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.82 billion. BP had a return on equity of 13.83% and a net margin of 3.60%. The business’s revenue was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that BP p.l.c. will post 4.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BP Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This is an increase from BP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.76%. BP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on BP shares. Wolfe Research started coverage on BP in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $57.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com cut BP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 29th. UBS Group upgraded shares of BP to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. TD Securities boosted their price target on shares of BP from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of BP from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BP has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.23.

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.