BP (NYSE:BP) Rating Lowered to Sell at DZ Bank

BP (NYSE:BP) was downgraded by stock analysts at DZ Bank from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on BP. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of BP in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of BP from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of BP from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com lowered BP from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on BP from $34.70 to $31.80 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $39.64.

BP Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of BP stock opened at $34.70 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market cap of $92.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.53, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a 50 day moving average of $30.57 and a 200-day moving average of $31.33. BP has a 12-month low of $27.82 and a 12-month high of $40.40.

BP (NYSE:BP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.12). BP had a net margin of 1.36% and a return on equity of 12.91%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that BP will post 3.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BP

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BP. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of BP by 217.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 107,282 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $3,171,000 after buying an additional 73,478 shares in the last quarter. Summit Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of BP by 17.8% during the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 20,392 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $603,000 after acquiring an additional 3,084 shares in the last quarter. ARK & TLK Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of BP in the 4th quarter worth approximately $434,000. Horizon Investments LLC raised its position in BP by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 19,753 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $584,000 after purchasing an additional 640 shares during the period. Finally, Cozad Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in BP by 92.6% in the fourth quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 43,818 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $1,295,000 after purchasing an additional 21,064 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.