BP (NYSE:BP) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by Wall Street Zen

BP (NYSE:BP) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Friday.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on BP. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $51.00 price target on shares of BP in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on BP from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Santander raised BP to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Bank of America lowered BP from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of BP in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.41.

BP Price Performance

BP stock traded up $1.09 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $36.52. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,872,529 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,055,593. BP has a 12 month low of $25.22 and a 12 month high of $37.64. 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 company has a market capitalization of $95.20 billion, a PE ratio of 62.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.32. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $35.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.50.

BP (NYSE:BP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.13. BP had a net margin of 0.79% and a return on equity of 9.07%. The company had revenue of $48.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $43.76 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.83 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that BP will post 3.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BP

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in BP by 19.5% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 38,809 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $1,348,000 after purchasing an additional 6,321 shares during the period. Northland Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of BP during the 4th quarter worth $238,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake in BP by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 5,566 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $197,000 after buying an additional 461 shares during the last quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in BP by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC now owns 12,671 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $440,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares during the period. Finally, Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH raised its stake in BP by 25.5% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 2,760 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 560 shares during the last quarter. 11.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.