240,000 Shares in BP p.l.c. $BP Bought by Milford Funds Ltd.

Milford Funds Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 240,000 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,335,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BP. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT purchased a new stake in BP during the fourth quarter worth $67,890,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund purchased a new stake in BP during the fourth quarter worth $17,768,000. Vestor Capital LLC boosted its holdings in BP by 3,119.8% during the fourth quarter. Vestor Capital LLC now owns 66,553 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $2,311,000 after buying an additional 64,486 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in BP during the third quarter worth $1,352,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in BP during the fourth quarter worth $891,000. 11.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on BP shares. Argus raised shares of BP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of BP from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of BP from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of BP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 25th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of BP from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $35.10 to $45.30 in a report on Friday, March 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average 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 commercial gas production at the ACG field in Azerbaijan, reinforcing near-term output growth and supporting the company’s upstream earnings profile. BP Commences Commercial Production of Gas at ACG Field in Azerbaijan
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group raised its FY2026 EPS estimate for BP, signaling improved earnings expectations and analyst confidence in the company’s outlook.
• Positive Sentiment: Separate commentary from analysts highlighted BP’s stronger balance sheet, a supportive commodity backdrop, and more than 30% upside potential, which may be helping sentiment around the stock. BP shares tipped for upside supported by highly supportive trading environment
• Positive Sentiment: Higher oil prices earlier this week were seen boosting BP’s upstream business and discovery pipeline, which can improve cash flow and earnings. How Elevated Oil Prices are Boosting BP’s Energy Business
• Neutral Sentiment: BP reportedly started a process to sell stakes in two Gulf of Mexico projects, a move that could sharpen the portfolio but also signals ongoing asset reshuffling under the new leadership team. BP starts process to sell stakes in two Gulf of Mexico projects, sources say
• Negative Sentiment: Brent crude fell sharply on easing geopolitical fears, which can pressure BP’s earnings outlook because weaker oil prices reduce upstream profitability. FTSE 100 Live: Stocks jump over 100 points on peace deal hopes, sending oil below $87
• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz LLP announced an investor investigation into BP, adding a potential legal and reputational headwind for the stock. INVESTOR ALERT: Pomerantz Law Firm Investigates Claims On Behalf of Investors of BP p.l.c. – BP

BP Stock Performance

NYSE:BP opened at $42.72 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $111.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 0.14. BP p.l.c. has a twelve month low of $29.58 and a twelve month high of $48.27. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $44.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.38. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $52.26 billion for 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%. BP’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.53 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that BP p.l.c. will post 5.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BP Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.4992 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. BP’s payout ratio is presently 165.00%.

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.