BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) Receives $44.23 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and three have assigned 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 $44.23.

BP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of BP from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $49.90 to $41.50 in a research report on Monday, July 15th. UBS Group upgraded BP to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on BP from $41.00 to $39.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of BP from $47.00 to $42.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of BP in a research report on Friday, June 14th.

BP Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE BP opened at $32.76 on Tuesday. BP has a twelve month low of $30.67 and a twelve month high of $40.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market cap of $90.75 billion, a PE ratio of 10.27, a PEG ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.04.

BP (NYSE:BP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $47.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.82 billion. BP had a return on equity of 13.83% and a net margin of 3.60%. BP’s quarterly revenue was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.89 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that BP will post 3.96 EPS for the current year.

BP Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th will be given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.86%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 9th. This is a boost from BP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. BP’s payout ratio is 59.56%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BP

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in BP in the first quarter worth about $31,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in shares of BP during the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in BP in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in BP by 576.0% in the fourth quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,129 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 962 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky raised its position in shares of BP by 85.7% during the 2nd quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 1,300 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.01% of the company’s stock.

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.