Investors Buy Large Volume of Call Options on BP (NYSE:BP)

BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Investors purchased 114,113 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 387% compared to the average daily volume of 23,426 call options.

BP Trading Down 1.2%

NYSE:BP traded down $0.45 on Thursday, reaching $36.41. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,049,095 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,887,939. The firm has a market cap of $95.77 billion, a PE ratio of 173.44, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.21. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $34.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.50. BP has a 1-year low of $25.22 and a 1-year high of $37.64.

BP (NYSE:BP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $48.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.76 billion. BP had a return on equity of 9.08% and a net margin of 0.29%.BP’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.83 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that BP will post 3.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BP Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th will be paid a $0.4992 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. This is a boost from BP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. BP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 339.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of BP in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of BP in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on BP from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Melius began coverage on BP in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $66.00 target price for the company. Finally, Santander upgraded shares of BP to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.14.

Institutional Trading of BP

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of BP in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of BP during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of BP by 2,250.0% in the first quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 940 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Acima Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of BP in the second quarter worth $32,000. Finally, GW&K Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in BP by 178.0% during the first quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 1,034 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 662 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.01% of the company’s stock.

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.