BP (NYSE:BP) Cut to "Sell" at DZ Bank

BP (NYSE:BP - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at DZ Bank from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on BP from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on BP from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of BP from $34.70 to $31.80 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of BP from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating on shares of BP in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $39.64.

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BP Trading Up 1.5 %

BP stock traded up $0.52 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $35.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,201,737 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,343,272. BP has a one year low of $27.82 and a one year high of $40.40. The stock has a market cap of $93.73 billion, a PE ratio of 36.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a 50 day moving average of $30.79 and a 200-day moving average of $31.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.22.

BP (NYSE:BP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 1.36% and a return on equity of 12.91%. On average, research analysts anticipate that BP will post 3.35 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BP

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. increased its holdings in shares of BP by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. now owns 129,215 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $3,820,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of BP by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 4,549 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $143,000 after acquiring an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 valued at $360,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. raised its stake in shares of BP by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 37,338 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $1,104,000 after buying an additional 437 shares during the period. Finally, ORG Partners LLC raised its position in BP by 32.5% during the third quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 2,533 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 621 shares during the period. 11.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.