BP (NYSE:BP) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday. The company traded as high as $48.37 and last traded at $48.3790, with a volume of 1,936,393 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $46.73.

Key Stories Impacting BP

Here are the key news stories impacting BP this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Lower debt strengthens the investment case: Higher oil and gas prices, stronger energy trading and refining results are expected to generate significant cash flow, accelerating debt reduction and potentially improving BP’s financial flexibility. BP Debt Shrinks With Boost From Oil and Gas Trading, Refining
• Positive Sentiment: Refining and gas trading outlook improves: BP forecasts that its refining indicator margin could nearly triple in the third quarter, while gas-trading performance is expected to be significantly stronger. These trends should support quarterly earnings and cash generation. BP expects significantly higher gas trading in third quarter
• Positive Sentiment: Oil prices and production recovery provide additional support: Rising crude prices have helped BP’s share-price recovery, while the company and other producers are restoring U.S. Gulf output following hurricane disruptions. BP Share price breaks key level as oil surges
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors await a new strategy: Chief Executive Meg O’Neill plans to present an updated strategy in December, potentially clarifying capital allocation, portfolio priorities and BP’s focus on debt reduction and core oil and gas operations. BP Plans Strategy Update as Balance Sheet Strengthens
• Negative Sentiment: Large impairment charges remain a concern: BP expects up to $4.5 billion in third-quarter net impairments, primarily affecting its gas and low-carbon businesses. The charges could weigh on reported earnings and highlight pressure in parts of the portfolio despite stronger refining results. BP Flags Up to $4.5 Billion in Impairments as Refining Margins Jump

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group cut shares of BP from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of BP from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. HSBC upgraded shares of BP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $46.00 to $51.30 in a report on Friday, September 25th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on BP from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of BP in a research report on Monday, September 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.44.

BP Trading Up 3.7%

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $44.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.27. The stock has a market cap of $126.95 billion, a PE ratio of 23.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 0.20.

BP (NYSE:BP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The oil and gas exploration company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $69.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $57.89 billion. BP had a net margin of 2.49% and a return on equity of 16.63%. BP’s revenue was up 106.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.90 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that BP p.l.c. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BP Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 18th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th were given a $0.5196 dividend. This is a boost from BP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.4992. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. BP’s payout ratio is currently 100.49%.

Institutional Trading of BP

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dupree Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of BP by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Dupree Financial Group LLC now owns 161,280 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $7,095,000 after buying an additional 4,557 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BP in the 3rd quarter worth $215,000. Riversedge Advisors LLC bought a new position in BP in the 3rd quarter worth $256,000. Wedmont Private Capital raised its holdings in BP by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 7,478 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Finally, Hummer Financial Advisory Services Inc purchased a new position in BP during the third quarter valued at $205,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.01% of the company’s stock.

About BP

BP p.l.c. is a global integrated energy company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. Its operations span the exploration, development and production of oil and natural gas, as well as the processing, refining, transportation and marketing of energy products.

Through its businesses, BP supplies fuels for road transportation, aviation and marine use, along with lubricants marketed under the Castrol brand. The company also operates retail fuel and convenience locations and provides energy products and services to commercial and industrial customers.

BP has expanded its activities beyond traditional hydrocarbons to include lower-carbon businesses such as renewable power, bioenergy, electric-vehicle charging and hydrogen.