BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the twenty-one research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $37.48.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on BP shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of BP from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on BP from $30.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Wolfe Research set a $50.00 price objective on BP in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of BP from $34.70 to $31.80 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded shares of BP from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, March 19th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BP

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. IHT Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of BP by 4.8% during the third quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,123 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $444,000 after buying an additional 652 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its stake in BP by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 11,459 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $360,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its position in BP by 3.8% during the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 343,880 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $10,795,000 after purchasing an additional 12,700 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its position in BP by 4.5% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 50,333 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $1,580,000 after acquiring an additional 2,187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of BP by 58.7% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 3,120 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $98,000 after buying an additional 1,154 shares in the last quarter. 11.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

BP Trading Down 9.4 %

BP stock opened at $28.39 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.25. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 354.86, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.41. BP has a 52 week low of $27.82 and a 52 week high of $40.40.

BP (NYSE:BP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.44 earnings per share 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 expect that BP will post 3.53 earnings per share for the current year.

BP Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.76%. BP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2,375.00%.

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.