BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 10,650,000 shares, a decline of 31.7% from the February 13th total of 15,600,000 shares. Currently, 0.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 11,140,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.0 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BP. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in BP in the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Bank & Trust Co increased its position in shares of BP by 404.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 2,120 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 1,700 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in BP by 41.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,221 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 646 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 1,154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in BP by 26.9% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC now owns 7,550 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $223,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares during the last quarter. 11.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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BP Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of BP stock traded down $0.16 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $34.60. The company's stock had a trading volume of 40,923,538 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,167,661. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market capitalization of $92.62 billion, a PE ratio of 432.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.58. The business has a fifty day moving average of $32.63 and a 200 day moving average of $31.27. BP has a 1-year low of $27.82 and a 1-year high of $40.40.

BP (NYSE:BP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.44 EPS 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that BP will post 3.53 EPS for the current year.

BP Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.55%. BP's dividend payout ratio is currently 2,375.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of BP from $30.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on BP from $34.70 to $31.80 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com cut BP from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Raymond James increased their target price on BP from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price target on BP from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $37.48.

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.