BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $39.64.

BP has been the topic of several analyst reports. DZ Bank downgraded BP from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on BP from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com lowered shares of BP from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of BP in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of BP from $30.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday.

BP Price Performance

NYSE BP opened at $34.48 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $30.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.36. BP has a 52 week low of $27.82 and a 52 week high of $40.40. 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 capitalization of $92.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.29, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.64.

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

BP Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.57%. BP’s dividend payout ratio is currently 200.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of BP by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. now owns 129,215 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $3,820,000 after acquiring an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of BP by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 4,549 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $143,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of BP by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 11,459 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $360,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the period. Atlas Brown Inc. increased its position in shares of BP by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 37,338 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $1,104,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC raised its holdings in BP by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 19,753 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $584,000 after buying an additional 640 shares during the period. 11.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.