BP (NYSE:BP) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of BP (NYSE:BP) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Friday.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Piper Sandler reiterated a neutral rating and issued a $43.00 target price on shares of BP in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of BP from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $49.90 to $41.50 in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a hold rating on shares of BP in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Evercore ISI upgraded BP to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on BP in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They set an outperform rating and a $57.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $43.73.

BP Price Performance

BP stock opened at $32.88 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $33.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.66. BP has a 12 month low of $30.52 and a 12 month high of $40.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market cap of $91.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.31, a P/E/G ratio of 4.27 and a beta of 0.64.

BP (NYSE:BP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $1.00 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 business had revenue of $47.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.89 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that BP will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BP Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.84%. This is an increase from BP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. BP’s payout ratio is 59.56%.

Institutional Trading of BP

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of BP during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of BP during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Quent Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of BP in the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of BP by 576.0% during the 4th quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,129 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 962 shares during the period. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its stake in BP by 85.7% during the second quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 1,300 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. 11.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About BP

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.