Edge Capital Group LLC Has $8.03 Million Stock Holdings in BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP)

Edge Capital Group LLC reduced its position in BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 222,358 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock after selling 1,940 shares during the period. Edge Capital Group LLC’s holdings in BP were worth $8,027,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also 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. acquired a new stake in shares of BP during the 2nd 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 grew its holdings in 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 worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 11.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BP. Barclays upgraded BP to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of BP in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $57.00 price target on the stock. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of BP in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of BP from $47.00 to $42.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, UBS Group raised BP to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.23.

BP Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BP opened at $32.64 on Friday. 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 50 day moving average price of $33.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.42 billion, a PE ratio of 10.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.64. BP p.l.c. has a 52 week low of $30.67 and a 52 week high of $40.84.

BP (NYSE:BP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.08. BP had a return on equity of 13.83% and a net margin of 3.60%. The company had revenue of $47.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that BP p.l.c. will post 3.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BP Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.88%. This is a boost from BP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. BP’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.56%.

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.