BP (NYSE:BP) Upgraded by Freedom Capital to “Hold” Rating

Freedom Capital upgraded shares of BP (NYSE:BP) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on BP. Zacks Research lowered BP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 25th. Weiss Ratings upgraded BP from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. BNP Paribas Exane set a $57.00 price objective on BP and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised BP from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of BP from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.36.

BP Stock Performance

NYSE:BP opened at $41.61 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market cap of $108.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.16. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $41.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.89. BP has a 1-year low of $32.72 and a 1-year high of $48.27.

BP (NYSE:BP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.35. BP had a net margin of 2.49% and a return on equity of 16.63%. The company had revenue of $69.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $57.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.90 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 106.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that BP will post 5.96 EPS for the current year.

BP Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.5196 per share. This is a boost from BP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. BP’s payout ratio is presently 96.59%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of BP during the 1st quarter worth $39,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in BP in the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. LRI Investments LLC increased its holdings in BP by 76.2% during the 4th quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 1,276 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 552 shares in the last quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new position in BP during the second quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of BP by 39.1% in the fourth quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 1,808 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.01% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting BP

Here are the key news stories impacting BP this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BP agreed to acquire Woodside Energy’s 70% stake in the Calypso gas project offshore Trinidad and Tobago, giving BP full ownership and operatorship of the early-stage deepwater development. The deal could strengthen BP’s regional gas position and future production pipeline, although the project remains at an early stage. BP to acquire Woodside’s stake in Calypso project
• Positive Sentiment: BP is pursuing sales of its Archaea Energy renewable natural gas business and other noncore assets, including North Sea interests. The moves support CEO Meg O’Neill’s strategy to simplify the portfolio, focus capital on higher-priority projects and potentially improve profitability. BP to sell landfill RNG business Archaea Energy
• Neutral Sentiment: Piper Sandler raised its BP price target from $42 to $43 while maintaining a “neutral” rating. The modest increase indicates limited near-term conviction despite acknowledging some potential upside. Piper Sandler raises BP price target
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts highlighted BP’s North Sea asset sale, updated production guidance and higher interim dividend following a strong first half. The transactions may improve capital allocation, but investors are assessing whether BP’s recent share-price gains already reflect the benefits. BP sells North Sea assets
• Neutral Sentiment: A potential Brazilian megaproject could provide BP with a long-term growth region as existing pre-salt developments mature, but the opportunity remains dependent on exploration and project execution. Brazil megaproject
• Negative Sentiment: BP’s former finance chief warned that the UK Treasury could lose billions in tax revenue and relief from Labour’s planned North Sea shutdown. The report underscores regulatory and fiscal uncertainty surrounding BP’s UK operations. North Sea shutdown to cost Treasury billions
• Negative Sentiment: A nearly five-month labor lockout at BP’s Whiting refinery remains an operational and employee-relations concern, potentially creating disruption and additional costs. BP Whiting refinery labor lockout

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.