BP (NYSE:BP) Reaches New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday. The stock traded as high as $50.27 and last traded at $50.2880, with a volume of 362,619 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $49.85.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on BP shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded BP from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $48.00 to $57.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. Evercore upgraded BP to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of BP in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of BP from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on shares of BP in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. They set a “buy” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BP presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.44.

BP Stock Up 0.0%

The stock has a market cap of $130.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.33, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.27. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $45.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.66.

BP (NYSE:BP) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The oil and gas exploration company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.35. BP had a net margin of 2.49% and a return on equity of 16.63%. The company had revenue of $69.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $57.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.90 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 106.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that BP p.l.c. will post 7.88 earnings per share for the current year.

BP Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th were paid a $0.5196 dividend. This is a boost from BP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.4992. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. BP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 100.49%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA acquired a new stake in BP during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of BP in the first quarter valued at about $39,000. Sawyer & Company Inc bought a new stake in BP in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Gill Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of BP by 53.2% in the second quarter. Gill Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,376 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 478 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Community Bank N.A. boosted its holdings in BP by 237.0% during the second quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 1,685 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185 shares during the last quarter. 11.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BP Company Profile

BP p.l.c. is a global integrated energy company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. Its operations span the exploration, development and production of oil and natural gas, as well as the processing, refining, transportation and marketing of energy products.

Through its businesses, BP supplies fuels for road transportation, aviation and marine use, along with lubricants marketed under the Castrol brand. The company also operates retail fuel and convenience locations and provides energy products and services to commercial and industrial customers.

BP has expanded its activities beyond traditional hydrocarbons to include lower-carbon businesses such as renewable power, bioenergy, electric-vehicle charging and hydrogen.