BP (NYSE:BP) Cut to “Buy” at StockNews.com

BP (NYSE:BP) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on BP. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of BP from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of BP in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on BP from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. TD Securities upped their price objective on shares of BP from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded BP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $38.60 to $42.30 in a research report on Monday, March 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.88.

BP Price Performance

NYSE BP opened at $36.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market cap of $100.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.31, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.65. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.51. BP has a 52-week low of $33.52 and a 52-week high of $40.84.

BP (NYSE:BP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $48.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $53.65 billion. BP had a return on equity of 13.49% and a net margin of 4.51%. BP’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.66 EPS. Analysts anticipate that BP will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of BP

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in BP in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. First United Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of BP during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new stake in BP in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in BP by 576.0% during the 4th quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,129 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 962 shares during the period. Finally, MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of BP during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 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.