BP (NYSE:BP) Reaches New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $47.24 and last traded at $47.3560, with a volume of 442499 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $46.68.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on BP shares. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $51.00 price target on shares of BP in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Argus raised BP to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Weiss Ratings upgraded BP from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Freedom Capital cut shares of BP from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of BP from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.18.

BP Trading Up 1.5%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $39.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.64. The company has a market capitalization of $124.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4,738.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.31.

BP (NYSE:BP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.03. BP had a return on equity of 9.68% and a net margin of 0.03%.The company had revenue of $47.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $42.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.44 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that BP p.l.c. will post 3.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BP Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 20th were given a dividend of $0.4992 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 20th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. BP’s dividend payout ratio is currently -19,700.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BP

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT bought a new stake in shares of BP in the 4th quarter worth approximately $67,890,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund bought a new stake in shares of BP during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $17,768,000. Sagefield Capital LP raised its stake in shares of BP by 125.2% in the fourth quarter. Sagefield Capital LP now owns 493,556 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $17,141,000 after purchasing an additional 274,381 shares in the last quarter. Milford Funds Ltd. bought a new position in BP in the fourth quarter worth $8,335,000. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in BP by 206.0% in the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 252,849 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $7,568,000 after buying an additional 170,221 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.01% of the company’s stock.

BP Company Profile

BP plc is a British multinational integrated energy company headquartered in London. Originating in the early 20th century as the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, BP has grown into one of the world’s largest oil and gas companies, operating across exploration and production, refining and marketing, trading, and a range of low-carbon businesses.

The company’s core activities include upstream exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas, midstream and trading operations, and downstream refining, marketing and supply of fuels, lubricants and petrochemicals.