BP (NYSE:BP) Downgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of BP (NYSE:BP - Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report published on Saturday morning.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on BP. Erste Group Bank restated a hold rating on shares of BP in a report on Friday, June 14th. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of BP from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of BP from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. TD Securities upped their price objective on shares of BP from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of BP from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a sector outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $43.88.

BP Price Performance

Shares of BP stock traded up $0.13 on Friday, hitting $36.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,322,001 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,421,964. BP has a 52-week low of $33.52 and a 52-week high of $40.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $37.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.52. The company has a market capitalization of $100.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.65.

BP (NYSE:BP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.03 by ($0.06). BP had a return on equity of 13.49% and a net margin of 4.51%. The business had revenue of $48.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $53.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.66 earnings per share. BP's quarterly revenue was down 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that BP will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BP Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th were paid a dividend of $0.4362 per share. This represents a $1.74 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. BP's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.92%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BP

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in BP by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,245 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $469,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. lifted its stake in BP by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 20,715 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $733,000 after buying an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Vima LLC lifted its stake in BP by 4.9% in the first quarter. Vima LLC now owns 9,994 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in BP by 27.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,755 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 586 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO lifted its stake in BP by 73.1% in the first quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 1,575 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 665 shares during the last quarter. 11.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.