Analysts Set BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) Price Target at $46.59

BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-three ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $46.5923.

BP has been the subject of a number of research reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of BP from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Freedom Capital raised shares of BP from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on BP from $54.00 to $48.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Mizuho set a $53.00 price target on BP in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded BP from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th.

BP Price Performance

Shares of BP opened at $45.39 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $118.90 billion, a PE ratio of 22.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.15. BP has a 52-week low of $32.72 and a 52-week high of $48.27. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $43.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.27.

BP (NYSE:BP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The oil and gas exploration company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.35. BP had a net margin of 2.49% and a return on equity of 16.63%. The company had revenue of $69.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $57.89 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.90 EPS. BP’s revenue for the quarter was up 106.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that BP will post 6.58 EPS for the current year.

BP Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a $0.5196 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.6%. This is an increase from BP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. BP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.49%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BP. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of BP during the first quarter worth about $39,000. Gill Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in BP by 53.2% in the 2nd quarter. Gill Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,376 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 478 shares in the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. boosted its stake in BP by 237.0% during the 2nd quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 1,685 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont bought a new stake in BP during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $73,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of BP by 66.8% in the fourth quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,544 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 1,019 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.01% of the company’s stock.

BP Company Profile

BP p.l.c. is a global integrated energy company headquartered in London, England. Its operations span the energy value chain, including exploration and production of oil and natural gas, refining, fuel marketing, energy trading and transportation. BP also produces and markets lubricants through its Castrol brand and supplies fuels through retail networks operating under brands such as BP, Aral and ampm.

The company has operations and business relationships across multiple regions, including the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific.