BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) Receives $37.48 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Hold" by the twenty-one ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, fourteen have issued a hold recommendation, two have given a buy recommendation and four have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $37.48.

A number of research analysts recently commented on BP shares. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on BP from $34.70 to $31.80 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Securities reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $36.00 price objective (down from $40.00) on shares of BP in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of BP from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. 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. Finally, StockNews.com cut BP from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th.

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BP Stock Performance

BP stock traded down $2.96 on Friday, reaching $28.39. 23,078,558 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,551,781. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.97. BP has a 12 month low of $27.82 and a 12 month high of $40.40. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $33.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.06 billion, a PE ratio of 354.86, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.41.

BP (NYSE:BP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.12). BP had a net margin of 0.20% and a return on equity of 10.96%. On average, research analysts anticipate that BP will post 3.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BP Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. BP's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2,375.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BP

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BP. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in BP by 333.0% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 9,618 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $325,000 after purchasing an additional 7,397 shares during the period. Cullen Investment Group LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of BP during the 1st quarter worth approximately $203,000. Emprise Bank bought a new stake in shares of BP during the first quarter worth approximately $204,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in BP in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its holdings in BP by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 11,839 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $344,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares during the period. 11.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.