BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) Short Interest Down 39.8% in May

BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of May. As of May 29th, there was short interest totaling 9,136,996 shares, a drop of 39.8% from the May 14th total of 15,186,793 shares. Currently, 0.4% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 11,052,826 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.8 days.

BP Price Performance

BP stock opened at $41.16 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The company has a market capitalization of $107.78 billion, a PE ratio of 34.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.14. BP has a one year low of $29.58 and a one year high of $48.27. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.49.

BP (NYSE:BP) last posted its 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. The business had revenue of $52.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.50 billion. BP had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 1.62%.BP’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.53 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that BP will post 5.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BP Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.4992 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. BP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 165.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on BP shares. Piper Sandler raised their target price on BP from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. HSBC upgraded BP from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $35.10 to $45.30 in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Argus upgraded BP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on BP from $39.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane set a $57.00 price objective on BP and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.14.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BP

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Strategic Advocates LLC bought a new position in shares of BP during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. YANKCOM Partnership raised its position in BP by 1,068.3% in the 4th quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 958 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 876 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in BP in the 1st quarter valued at $39,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in BP in the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC raised its position in BP by 76.2% in 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 purchasing an additional 552 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 11.01% of the company’s stock.

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.