BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the twenty-one ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have assigned a hold recommendation, eight have given a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $40.4091.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of BP from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of BP in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $51.00 target price on shares of BP in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Bank of America cut BP from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Santander upgraded shares of BP to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd.

BP Price Performance

NYSE BP opened at $38.12 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $99.36 billion, a PE ratio of 65.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $35.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $34.89. BP has a 52 week low of $25.22 and a 52 week high of $39.51.

BP (NYSE:BP) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $48.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.76 billion. BP had a net margin of 0.79% and a return on equity of 9.07%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.83 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that BP will post 3.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BP

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS boosted its stake in BP by 1.6% during the second quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 485,409 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $14,528,000 after buying an additional 7,645 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of BP by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 392,400 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $13,628,000 after purchasing an additional 22,100 shares in the last quarter. Bollard Group LLC increased its position in shares of BP by 12.7% in the second quarter. Bollard Group LLC now owns 337,724 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $10,108,000 after purchasing an additional 37,974 shares during the last quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc raised its stake in BP by 0.6% in the third quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 278,305 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $9,590,000 after purchasing an additional 1,669 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in BP by 206.0% during the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 252,849 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $7,568,000 after purchasing an additional 170,221 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.01% of the company’s stock.

About BP

BP plc is a British multinational integrated energy company headquartered in London. Originating in the early 20th century as the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, BP has grown into one of the world’s largest oil and gas companies, operating across exploration and production, refining and marketing, trading, and a range of low-carbon businesses.

The company’s core activities include upstream exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas, midstream and trading operations, and downstream refining, marketing and supply of fuels, lubricants and petrochemicals.