Sound Shore Management Inc. CT Buys New Position in BP p.l.c. $BP

Sound Shore Management Inc. CT purchased a new position in shares of BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 1,954,785 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock, valued at approximately $67,890,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BP. Strategic Advocates LLC purchased a new position in shares of BP during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. YANKCOM Partnership boosted its holdings in BP by 1,068.3% in the fourth quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 958 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 876 shares in the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in BP in the third quarter valued at $43,000. LRI Investments LLC boosted its holdings in BP by 76.2% in the fourth quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 1,276 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. lifted its position in BP by 100.0% during the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 1,300 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 650 shares during the period. 11.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BP Trading Up 0.8%

BP stock opened at $43.75 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $45.32 and a 200 day moving average of $40.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $114.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.14. BP p.l.c. has a 12-month low of $28.83 and a 12-month high of $48.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

BP (NYSE:BP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $52.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.50 billion. BP had a net margin of 1.62% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.53 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that BP p.l.c. will post 5.08 earnings per share for the current year.

BP Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.4992 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. BP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 165.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on BP shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on BP from $39.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on BP from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on BP from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Freedom Capital lowered BP from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded BP from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $49.40 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.14.

Key Headlines Impacting BP

Here are the key news stories impacting BP this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BP began first commercial non-associated gas production at its ACG field in the Caspian Sea, opening up a new growth stream from an estimated 4-6 Tcf of recoverable gas resources. This could meaningfully expand BP’s production profile and supports the bull case for future cash flow. First Non-Associated Gas Flows at BP’s ACG Field in the Caspian Sea
• Positive Sentiment: BP also reportedly held talks to sell about £2 billion of UK North Sea assets to Ithaca Energy, which would fit management’s strategy of reshaping the portfolio and potentially strengthening the balance sheet. BP held talks to sell North Sea assets to Ithaca for £2 billion, FT reports
• Positive Sentiment: BP’s start-up of gas production at ACG is another operational milestone that highlights continued execution in Azerbaijan, reinforcing the company’s long-term growth narrative. BP starts NAG production at ACG field offshore Azerbaijan
• Neutral Sentiment: BP appointed Amanda Blanc to lead the search for its next chair, a governance update that may help clarify succession planning but does not directly change near-term fundamentals. BP tasks independent director Amanda Blanc to lead search for next chair
• Neutral Sentiment: BP is set to transfer operation of the BTC pipeline to Azerbaijan’s SOCAR on July 1, a planned contractual handover that is largely administrative. BP says it is set to transfer running of BTC pipeline to Azerbaijan’s SOCAR
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that BP may quit the North Sea after Labour’s tax increases raise concerns about policy pressure, future regional investment, and potential restructuring costs. BP considers quitting North Sea after Labour tax raid
• Negative Sentiment: A Pomerantz law firm investigation into claims on behalf of BP investors adds a headline risk that can weigh on sentiment, even though it does not yet imply wrongdoing. INVESTOR ALERT: Pomerantz Law Firm Investigates Claims On Behalf of Investors of BP p.l.c. – BP
• Negative Sentiment: Media reports of an executive departure and broader leadership churn at BP may raise concerns about internal stability during a period of strategic change. Exec exodus continues at BP as gas boss quits…

BP 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.