BP (NYSE:BP) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) shares gapped up prior to trading on Thursday. The stock had previously closed at $44.51, but opened at $46.04. BP shares last traded at $46.1050, with a volume of 1,687,415 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on BP shares. Citigroup initiated coverage on BP in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Mizuho raised their price target on BP from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of BP in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of BP from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. Finally, Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of BP in a report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BP presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.44.

BP Stock Down 0.3%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $44.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $121.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.55, a PEG ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 0.20.

BP (NYSE:BP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The oil and gas exploration company reported $2.22 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 the consensus estimate of $57.89 billion. BP had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 2.49%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 106.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.90 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that BP p.l.c. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BP Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 18th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th were issued a $0.5196 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. This is a positive change from BP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.4992. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.5%. BP’s payout ratio is 100.49%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BP

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of BP by 2.9% during the second quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 11,424 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $422,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its stake in shares of BP by 4.5% in the third quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 7,478 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $347,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Venture Visionary Partners LLC grew its holdings in BP by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 26,991 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $1,187,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in BP by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 8,310 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $366,000 after buying an additional 357 shares during the period. Finally, Atlas Brown Inc. lifted its holdings in BP by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 36,925 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $1,364,000 after buying an additional 370 shares in 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, 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.