NBC Securities Inc. Sells 999 Shares of BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP)

NBC Securities Inc. lessened its stake in shares of BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) by 6.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,318 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock after selling 999 shares during the quarter. NBC Securities Inc.’s holdings in BP were worth $539,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BP. Hollencrest Capital Management lifted its position in shares of BP by 221.4% during the 3rd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 9,000 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $348,000 after buying an additional 6,200 shares during the period. Monograph Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in BP in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,163,000. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in BP in the 3rd quarter valued at $525,000. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL raised its position in BP by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL now owns 23,295 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $902,000 after purchasing an additional 2,525 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its position in BP by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 467,250 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $18,092,000 after purchasing an additional 11,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 11.01% of the company’s stock.

BP Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of BP stock opened at $35.72 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. BP p.l.c. has a 12 month low of $33.52 and a 12 month high of $40.84. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.48. The stock has a market cap of $99.50 billion, a PE ratio of 11.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.65.

BP (NYSE:BP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by ($0.06). BP had a return on equity of 13.49% and a net margin of 4.51%. The company had revenue of $48.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $53.65 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.66 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that BP p.l.c. will post 4.8 EPS for the current year.

BP Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.4362 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $1.74 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.89%. BP’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on BP from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. TD Securities lifted their price objective on BP from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on BP from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Raymond James lifted their target price on BP from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised BP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $38.60 to $42.30 in a research note on Monday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.88.

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.