BP (LON:BP) Price Target Cut to GBX 500 by Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

BP (LON:BP) had its price objective cut by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from GBX 550 ($7.23) to GBX 500 ($6.57) in a research note released on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have an underweight rating on the oil and gas exploration company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on BP. Berenberg Bank reaffirmed a hold rating and issued a GBX 510 ($6.71) target price on shares of BP in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an outperform rating and issued a GBX 650 ($8.55) target price on shares of BP in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an overweight rating on shares of BP in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of GBX 636.67 ($8.37).

BP Stock Performance

BP stock opened at GBX 411.70 ($5.41) on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 79.91. The company has a 50-day moving average of GBX 447.84 and a 200 day moving average of GBX 475.67. The stock has a market cap of £67.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,254.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 0.52.

BP Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 8th. This is a positive change from BP’s previous dividend of $0.07. BP’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6,969.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BP news, insider Murray Auchincloss sold 454,841 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 459 ($6.04), for a total transaction of £2,087,720.19 ($2,745,194.20). In other news, insider Hina Nagarajan acquired 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of GBX 429 ($5.64) per share, for a total transaction of £21,450 ($28,205.13). Also, insider Murray Auchincloss sold 454,841 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 459 ($6.04), for a total value of £2,087,720.19 ($2,745,194.20). Insiders have acquired a total of 5,099 shares of company stock valued at $2,188,269 in the last quarter. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

BP Company Profile

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.