BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eighteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $44.23.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on BP shares. Barclays raised shares of BP to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Piper Sandler reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $43.00 price objective on shares of BP in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on BP from $41.00 to $39.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Argus raised BP to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of BP from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $49.90 to $41.50 in a research report on Monday, July 15th.

BP Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE BP traded up $0.62 on Friday, reaching $34.12. The company had a trading volume of 5,222,026 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,410,176. The firm has a market cap of $94.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.65. BP has a fifty-two week low of $32.51 and a fifty-two week high of $40.84. The business has a 50 day moving average of $34.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

BP (NYSE:BP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $47.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.82 billion. BP had a return on equity of 13.83% and a net margin of 3.60%. The firm's revenue was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.89 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that BP will post 4.24 EPS for the current year.

BP Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th will be given a $0.48 dividend. This is a boost from BP's previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.63%. BP's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.56%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in BP in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in BP during the second quarter worth $33,000. First United Bank & Trust purchased a new position in BP in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in BP in the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Guardian Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of BP by 576.0% during the 4th quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,129 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 962 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.