BP (NYSE:BP) Lowered to Hold Rating by Zacks Research
by Renee Jackson · The Cerbat GemZacks Research lowered shares of BP (NYSE:BP – Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.
BP has been the topic of several other research reports. BNP Paribas Exane set a $57.00 price objective on BP and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Weiss Ratings upgraded BP from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded BP from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Melius Research downgraded BP from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $31.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of BP from $41.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.14.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on BP
BP Stock Performance
Shares of BP stock opened at $42.65 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.22. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $45.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.83. BP has a one year low of $28.83 and a one year high of $48.27. The firm has a market cap of $111.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.18.
BP (NYSE:BP – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.24. BP had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 1.62%.The business had revenue of $52.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.50 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.53 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that BP will post 5.08 EPS for the current year.
BP Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a $0.4992 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. BP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 164.17%.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On BP
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BP. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in BP by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 39,146 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $1,172,000 after buying an additional 1,588 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its position in BP by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 8,295 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $248,000 after buying an additional 568 shares during the period. IHT Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of BP by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,513 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $375,000 after purchasing an additional 398 shares in the last quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BP in the 2nd quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Archer Investment Corp raised its holdings in shares of BP by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 17,698 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $610,000 after purchasing an additional 2,103 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.01% of the company’s stock.
Key Headlines Impacting BP
Here are the key news stories impacting BP this week:
- Negative Sentiment: BP’s board ousted Albert Manifold over governance and conduct concerns, a surprise leadership shake-up that reinforces concerns about instability and could slow the company’s turnaround efforts. BP’s ousted chairman Albert Manifold disputes accusations over his conduct
- Negative Sentiment: Manifold publicly disputed BP’s account, saying he was removed “without warning and without explanation,” which could prolong the controversy and keep boardroom drama in the headlines. BP Crisis Deepens as Ousted Chairman Comes Out Fighting
- Negative Sentiment: Multiple reports also link the removal to alleged bullying or aggressive behavior toward colleagues, creating reputational risk and adding to the perception of recurring governance problems at BP. Oil giant BP ousts new chairman over ‘conduct’ and shares slide
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.
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