Raymond James Boosts BP (NYSE:BP) Price Target to $45.00

BP (NYSE:BP) had its price target upped by Raymond James from $42.00 to $45.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. Raymond James currently has an outperform rating on the oil and gas exploration company’s stock.

BP has been the subject of several other reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of BP from a hold rating to a buy rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $38.60 to $42.30 in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of BP from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of BP from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a sector outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of BP from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, TD Securities lifted their price objective on shares of BP from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $43.22.

BP Stock Down 0.7 %

BP stock opened at $38.35 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $37.09 and a 200 day moving average of $36.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $108.00 billion, a PE ratio of 7.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. BP has a 52 week low of $33.52 and a 52 week high of $40.84.

BP (NYSE:BP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $52.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $53.14 billion. BP had a net margin of 7.15% and a return on equity of 16.00%. BP’s revenue for the quarter was down 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.59 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that BP will post 4.94 earnings per share for the current year.

BP Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 16th were issued a $0.4362 dividend. This represents a $1.74 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. BP’s payout ratio is presently 33.79%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BP

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BP. Turim 21 Investimentos Ltda. purchased a new stake in shares of BP during the first quarter worth $30,000. First United Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of BP during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO purchased a new stake in shares of BP during the third quarter worth $35,000. Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of BP during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Guardian Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of BP by 576.0% during the fourth quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,129 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 962 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.01% of the company’s stock.

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.