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

BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $39.51 and last traded at $39.4780, with a volume of 15439169 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $38.86.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on BP from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of BP from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of BP from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Scotiabank set a $41.00 target price on BP in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, HSBC cut BP from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $38.50 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.35.

BP Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average of $36.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $35.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.26. The company has a market cap of $101.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3,882.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.31.

BP (NYSE:BP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $10.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $9.43. BP had a return on equity of 9.68% and a net margin of 0.03%.The firm had revenue of $47.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $42.19 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.44 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that BP p.l.c. will post 3.53 EPS for the current year.

BP Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.4992 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 20th. BP’s payout ratio is -19,800.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BP. Ameriflex Group Inc. grew its position in shares of BP by 39.1% in the 4th quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 1,808 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. Sagefield Capital LP lifted 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 worth $17,141,000 after acquiring an additional 274,381 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC boosted its holdings in BP by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 18,304 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $636,000 after acquiring an additional 999 shares during the last quarter. Milford Funds Ltd. acquired a new stake in BP during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $8,335,000. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund bought a new position in BP during the 4th quarter worth approximately $17,768,000. 11.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About BP

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.