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

BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 10,490,000 shares, a growth of 30.5% from the October 15th total of 8,040,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 8,150,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.3 days. Approximately 0.4% of the shares of the company are short sold.

BP Trading Down 0.2 %

BP traded down $0.07 on Friday, hitting $28.98. The company had a trading volume of 8,004,119 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,528,719. The company has a market cap of $78.61 billion, a PE ratio of 30.73, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.65. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $31.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.08. BP has a 12-month low of $27.82 and a 12-month high of $40.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

BP (NYSE:BP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.05. BP had a return on equity of 12.91% and a net margin of 1.36%. The firm had revenue of $47.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $52.05 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.15 EPS. BP's quarterly revenue was down 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that BP will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

BP Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.63%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. BP's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 200.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BP. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of BP during the 1st quarter worth $6,682,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in BP during the 3rd quarter valued at about $5,089,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its position in shares of BP by 26.7% in the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 629,568 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $22,727,000 after purchasing an additional 132,750 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in shares of BP during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,620,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in BP by 860.7% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 66,464 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $2,086,000 after buying an additional 59,546 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 11.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. HSBC lowered BP from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded BP to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com raised shares of BP from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on BP in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $57.00 price target for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of BP from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, BP has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $42.73.

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.