BP (NYSE:BP) Rating Increased to Neutral at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of BP (NYSE:BP) from an underweight rating to a neutral rating in a research note published on Thursday, Marketbeat reports.

BP has been the subject of a number of other reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of BP in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Raymond James boosted their price target on BP from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. DZ Bank downgraded BP from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on BP from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered BP from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $39.64.

BP Price Performance

BP stock opened at $34.69 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. BP has a 52-week low of $27.82 and a 52-week high of $40.40. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $31.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.38. The company has a market capitalization of $92.86 billion, a PE ratio of 433.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.64.

BP (NYSE:BP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.12). BP had a net margin of 0.20% and a return on equity of 10.96%. Analysts predict that BP will post 3.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BP Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.54%. BP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2,375.30%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of BP in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Bank & Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of BP by 404.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 2,120 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 1,700 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of BP by 41.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,221 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 646 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BP by 58.7% in the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 3,120 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $98,000 after buying an additional 1,154 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BP by 26.9% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC now owns 7,550 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $223,000 after buying an additional 1,600 shares during the period. 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.