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

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

BP News Summary

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer started coverage on BP in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Zacks Research upgraded shares of BP from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of BP in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Needham & Company LLC started coverage on shares of BP in a report on Thursday, October 1st. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of BP from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $48.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.44.

BP Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $44.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.53. The firm has a market cap of $126.95 billion, a PE ratio of 23.66, a PEG ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 0.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

BP (NYSE:BP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The oil and gas exploration company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $69.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $57.89 billion. BP had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 2.49%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 106.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.90 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that BP p.l.c. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BP Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 an increase from BP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.4992. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. BP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.49%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BP

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dupree Financial Group LLC increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 4,557 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BP during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $215,000. Riversedge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BP during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $256,000. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its position in shares of BP by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 7,478 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $347,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hummer Financial Advisory Services Inc bought a new position in shares of BP during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $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.