BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) Short Interest Update

BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 8,360,000 shares, a drop of 29.2% from the November 15th total of 11,810,000 shares. Currently, 0.3% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 9,770,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.9 days.

BP Stock Performance

Shares of BP traded down $0.17 on Friday, reaching $29.98. 7,192,312 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,693,406. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $30.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. BP has a 52-week low of $27.82 and a 52-week high of $40.40. The stock has a market cap of $80.55 billion, a PE ratio of 31.75, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.64.

BP (NYSE:BP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.05. BP had a return on equity of 12.91% and a net margin of 1.36%. The company had revenue of $47.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $52.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.15 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that BP will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BP Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. BP's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 200.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on BP. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded BP to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of BP from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of BP from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of BP from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Scotiabank cut shares of BP from a "sector outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $42.48.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BP

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its stake in BP by 2.6% during the third quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 646,102 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $20,281,000 after purchasing an additional 16,534 shares during the last quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS boosted its stake in BP by 5.4% in the third quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 454,980 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $14,282,000 after buying an additional 23,325 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in BP by 1.2% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 440,973 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $13,842,000 after acquiring an additional 5,150 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of BP by 3.4% during the second quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 429,773 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $15,515,000 after acquiring an additional 13,984 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of BP by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 360,050 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $12,998,000 after purchasing an additional 7,850 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 11.01% of the company's stock.

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.

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