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 research report report published on Tuesday.

BP has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of BP in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $57.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $43.00 target price on shares of BP in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered BP from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Argus raised BP to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of BP to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.73.

BP Price Performance

NYSE:BP traded down $0.71 on Tuesday, reaching $29.10. 1,590,144 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,424,909. The firm has a market cap of $78.94 billion, a PE ratio of 31.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.65. 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.48. BP has a 12 month low of $29.00 and a 12 month high of $40.40.

BP (NYSE:BP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $47.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $52.05 billion. BP had a return on equity of 12.91% and a net margin of 1.36%. The firm’s revenue was down 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.15 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that BP will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current year.

BP Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.60%. BP’s payout ratio is 200.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BP

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in BP in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in BP in the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Quent Capital LLC bought a new stake in BP during the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky lifted its holdings in shares of BP by 85.7% in the 2nd quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 1,300 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the period. Finally, Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO increased its stake in shares of BP by 29.1% during the second quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 2,034 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 459 shares during the period. 11.01% of the stock is 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.