BP (NYSE:BP) Given Hold Rating at TD Securities

TD Securities reiterated their hold rating on shares of BP (NYSE:BP) in a research note published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. TD Securities currently has a $36.00 target price on the oil and gas exploration company’s stock, down from their prior target price of $40.00.

BP has been the subject of a number of other reports. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of BP from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on BP from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on BP from $30.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of BP from $34.70 to $31.80 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of BP from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BP has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.48.

BP Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of BP stock opened at $34.61 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The business has a 50-day moving average of $32.56 and a 200 day moving average of $31.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.65 billion, a PE ratio of 432.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.58. BP has a 1-year low of $27.82 and a 1-year high of $40.40.

BP (NYSE:BP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.12). BP had a return on equity of 10.96% and a net margin of 0.20%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that BP will post 3.53 earnings per share for the current year.

BP Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.55%. BP’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2,375.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of BP in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Bank & Trust Co grew its position in BP by 404.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 2,120 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in BP by 41.0% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,221 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 646 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of BP by 58.7% in the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 3,120 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $98,000 after buying an additional 1,154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of BP by 26.9% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC now owns 7,550 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $223,000 after buying an additional 1,600 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.01% of the company’s stock.

About BP

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.