BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 10,490,000 shares, an increase of 30.5% from the October 15th total of 8,040,000 shares. Approximately 0.4% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 8,150,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.3 days.

BP Price Performance

Shares of BP opened at $28.98 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $78.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $31.14 and a 200 day moving average of $34.01. BP has a twelve month low of $27.82 and a twelve month high of $40.40.

BP (NYSE:BP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $47.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $52.05 billion. BP had a net margin of 1.36% and a return on equity of 12.91%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.15 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that BP will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BP Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.63%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. BP’s dividend payout ratio is currently 200.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of BP to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of BP to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays raised shares of BP to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of BP from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of BP from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.73.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BP

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of BP during the 1st quarter worth $6,682,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of BP by 207.2% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,089 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 1,409 shares in the last quarter. InterOcean Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of BP during the 1st quarter valued at $233,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of BP during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Fairview Capital Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of BP during the 1st quarter valued at $918,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.01% of the company’s stock.

About BP

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.