BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) saw a significant drop in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 10,650,000 shares, a drop of 31.7% from the February 13th total of 15,600,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 11,140,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.0 days. Currently, 0.4% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on BP shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on BP from $30.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wolfe Research set a $50.00 target price on shares of BP in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. DZ Bank downgraded shares of BP from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of BP from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, BP has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.26.

BP Price Performance

NYSE:BP traded up $0.37 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $33.76. The company had a trading volume of 10,810,184 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,892,701. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.37 billion, a PE ratio of 422.00, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $32.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.22. BP has a one year low of $27.82 and a one year high of $40.40.

BP (NYSE:BP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.12). BP had a net margin of 0.20% and a return on equity of 10.96%. Analysts forecast that BP will post 3.53 earnings per share for the current year.

BP Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.69%. BP’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2,375.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BP

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its stake in BP by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 11,839 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $344,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co increased its holdings in BP by 28.7% during the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 13,189 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $390,000 after buying an additional 2,944 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new stake in BP in the fourth quarter valued at $1,255,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of BP by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 940,786 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $27,810,000 after purchasing an additional 38,759 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Syon Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of BP by 38.9% in the 4th quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 21,476 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $635,000 after purchasing an additional 6,019 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.