BP p.l.c. (LON:BP) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of BP p.l.c. (LON:BP) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is GBX 605 ($7.55).

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of BP in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Berenberg Bank lowered their price objective on BP from GBX 470 ($5.86) to GBX 440 ($5.49) and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a GBX 540 ($6.74) target price on shares of BP in a research report on Monday, December 16th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Murray Auchincloss bought 95 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of GBX 394 ($4.92) per share, with a total value of £374.30 ($466.94). Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 200 shares of company stock valued at $76,760. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

BP Stock Performance

Shares of BP stock opened at GBX 414.05 ($5.17) on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of £65.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,254.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 0.49. BP has a twelve month low of GBX 379.70 ($4.74) and a twelve month high of GBX 562.30 ($7.01). The company’s fifty day moving average is GBX 384.92 and its 200 day moving average is GBX 414.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 79.91.

BP Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. BP’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6,969.70%.

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.