BP (NYSE:BP) Hits New 52-Week Low – What’s Next?

BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $26.53 and last traded at $26.80, with a volume of 8133884 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $28.38.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on BP from $34.70 to $31.80 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com lowered BP from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of BP from $30.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. TD Cowen cut shares of BP from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $50.00 target price on BP in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.48.

BP Stock Down 4.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.25. The company has a market capitalization of $73.76 billion, a PE ratio of 339.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.41. The company’s 50-day moving average is $32.97 and its 200 day moving average is $31.30.

BP (NYSE:BP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.12). BP had a return on equity of 10.96% and a net margin of 0.20%. As a group, analysts anticipate that BP p.l.c. will post 3.53 EPS for the current year.

BP Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. BP’s payout ratio is 2,375.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BP. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of BP in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in BP during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Bank & Trust Co lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 1,700 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake 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 worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 646 shares during the period. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its stake in BP by 58.7% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 3,120 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $98,000 after purchasing an additional 1,154 shares during the period. 11.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.