BP (NYSE:BP) Raised to "Buy" at StockNews.com

BP (NYSE:BP - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Friday.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. UBS Group raised BP to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley lowered BP from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $49.90 to $41.50 in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Hsbc Global Res raised BP to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on BP in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $57.00 price objective for the company. Finally, BNP Paribas lowered BP from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BP presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $42.98.

BP Stock Performance

Shares of BP stock traded up $0.21 on Friday, reaching $31.52. 4,461,050 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,285,789. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.24. The company's 50-day moving average is $32.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.07. The firm has a market cap of $87.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.88, a P/E/G ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.64. BP has a 1-year low of $30.52 and a 1-year high of $40.40.

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. BP had a return on equity of 13.83% and a net margin of 3.60%. The business had revenue of $47.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.89 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that BP will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BP

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in BP in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in BP in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new stake in BP in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky lifted its holdings in BP by 85.7% in the 2nd quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 1,300 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO lifted its holdings in BP by 29.1% in the 2nd quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 2,034 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 459 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.

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