BP (NYSE:BP) Upgraded by JPMorgan Chase & Co. to Neutral Rating

JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of BP (NYSE:BP) from an underweight rating to a neutral rating in a report published on Thursday morning, Marketbeat reports.

BP has been the subject of a number of other research reports. StockNews.com cut BP from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of BP in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. DZ Bank cut BP from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Raymond James raised their price target on BP from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on BP from $30.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $39.64.

BP Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of BP stock opened at $34.69 on Thursday. BP has a fifty-two week low of $27.82 and a fifty-two week high of $40.40. The stock has a market cap of $92.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 433.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

BP (NYSE:BP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.12). BP had a return on equity of 10.96% and a net margin of 0.20%. On average, analysts forecast that BP will post 3.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BP Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. BP’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2,375.30%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BP

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BP. Altrius Capital Management Inc lifted its position in BP by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 233,776 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $7,338,000 after acquiring an additional 20,976 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in BP by 83.3% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 53,360 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $1,577,000 after acquiring an additional 24,252 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its position in BP by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 660,538 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $19,526,000 after acquiring an additional 14,436 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC acquired a new position in BP during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $857,000. Finally, Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS lifted its position in BP by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 454,980 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $14,282,000 after acquiring an additional 23,325 shares in the last quarter. 11.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.