BP (NYSE:BP) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Zacks Research

BP (NYSE:BP) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on BP. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of BP in a research report on Friday, December 12th. HSBC raised BP from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $35.10 to $45.30 in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Freedom Capital lowered BP from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Melius Research lowered shares of BP from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $31.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of BP from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, BP presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.18.

BP Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BP opened at $46.87 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.82. BP has a 52 week low of $25.22 and a 52 week high of $48.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $122.90 billion, a P/E ratio of -4,682.62, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.31.

BP (NYSE:BP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.03. BP had a net margin of 0.03% and a return on equity of 9.68%. The firm had revenue of $47.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $42.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.44 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that BP will post 3.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of BP

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. ORG Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of BP by 16.2% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 2,038 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp grew its holdings in shares of BP by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 3,933 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $137,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in BP by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,597 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 324 shares during the period. Atlas Brown Inc. lifted its holdings in BP by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 36,721 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $1,275,000 after buying an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Finally, United Community Bank boosted its position in BP by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. United Community Bank now owns 29,456 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $1,023,000 after buying an additional 370 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.01% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about BP

Here are the key news stories impacting BP this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple Zacks items moved BP to a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), and it was added to Zacks’ income and value lists—this can attract retail and income-focused buyers. All You Need to Know About BP (BP) Rating Upgrade to Strong Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley and other brokers have moved to overweight/raise price targets on BP (one note raised target to $49.40), supporting the bull case and likely contributing to recent upside and higher trading interest. BP Upgraded to ‘Overweight’, Price Target Raised to $49.40
• Positive Sentiment: BP recently hit a 52‑week high, a technical boost that can trigger momentum and trend-following flows. Bp stock hits 52-week high at 47.35 USD
• Neutral Sentiment: BP plans to invest $1.5 billion in Egypt natural gas exploration for FY 2026/27—a meaningful upstream commitment but longer‑dated, so near-term stock impact is uncertain. Bp to invest $1.5bln in Egypt natural gas exploration in FY 2026/27
• Neutral Sentiment: BP sold 13 Thorntons convenience stores to Giant Oil—small retail/retail-asset rationalization that slightly reduces non-core exposure but is unlikely to move fundamentals materially. BP sells 13 Thorntons c-stores to Giant Oil
• Neutral Sentiment: An options piece highlights high call-option yields for BP ADRs—useful for income/derivatives traders but not a broad fundamental catalyst. BP PLC ADRs have high call option yields for value investors
• Neutral Sentiment: Ex‑BP CEO Bernard Looney taking the helm of a data‑center developer is notable headline risk around talent flow but does not directly change BP’s operations. Ex-BP CEO Bernard Looney to Lead Data-Center Developer
• Negative Sentiment: BP has lost its head of electric‑vehicle charging for the second time in a year, and reports say the company is accelerating a pivot back to oil & gas—this raises concerns about execution in EV/retail growth areas and strategic consistency. BP loses head of EV charging as it accelerates pivot back to oil and gas

BP Company Profile

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.