Short Interest in BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) Drops By 29.2%

BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 8,360,000 shares, a drop of 29.2% from the November 15th total of 11,810,000 shares. Approximately 0.3% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 9,770,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.9 days.

BP Stock Down 0.6 %

BP stock traded down $0.17 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $29.98. The stock had a trading volume of 7,192,312 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,693,406. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $30.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.91. BP has a 12-month low of $27.82 and a 12-month high of $40.40.

BP (NYSE:BP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $47.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $52.05 billion. BP had a return on equity of 12.91% and a net margin of 1.36%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.15 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that BP will post 3.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BP Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. BP’s payout ratio is presently 200.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BP. Altrius Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of BP by 9.9% in the third quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 233,776 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $7,338,000 after buying an additional 20,976 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC purchased a new position in shares of BP during the 3rd quarter worth $857,000. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BP in the 2nd quarter worth $2,620,000. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS raised its holdings in BP by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 431,655 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $15,583,000 after purchasing an additional 19,140 shares during the period. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its position in BP by 25.3% during the second quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 51,513 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $1,860,000 after purchasing an additional 10,385 shares in the last quarter. 11.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on BP shares. StockNews.com raised shares of BP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on BP from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Redburn Atlantic cut BP from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised BP to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Finally, BNP Paribas lowered BP from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, BP presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.48.

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.