Brokerages Set BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) PT at $37.35

Shares of BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the twenty-three research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $37.3462.

BP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Argus raised BP to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $51.00 target price on shares of BP in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of BP in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of BP in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of BP from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BP

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Strategic Advocates LLC purchased a new position in shares of BP in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in BP in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in BP during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. YANKCOM Partnership increased its position in shares of 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. Finally, Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of BP in the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.01% of the company’s stock.

BP Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of BP stock opened at $37.99 on Tuesday. BP has a 1-year low of $25.22 and a 1-year high of $39.51. The firm has a market cap of $99.61 billion, a PE ratio of -3,795.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a 50-day moving average of $36.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $35.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

BP (NYSE:BP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $47.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $42.19 billion. BP had a net margin of 0.03% and a return on equity of 9.68%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.44 EPS. On average, analysts predict that BP will post 3.53 EPS for the current year.

BP Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 20th will be paid a $0.4992 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 20th. BP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -19,800.00%.

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.