BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) Short Interest Update

BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,560,000 shares, a growth of 5.1% from the May 15th total of 6,240,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 9,060,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.7 days. Approximately 0.2% of the company’s shares are short sold.

BP Stock Performance

Shares of BP stock opened at $35.39 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. BP has a 52 week low of $33.52 and a 52 week high of $40.84. The company has a market cap of $98.59 billion, a PE ratio of 11.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.65.

BP (NYSE:BP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by ($0.06). BP had a return on equity of 13.49% and a net margin of 4.51%. The company had revenue of $48.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $53.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.66 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that BP will post 4.8 EPS for the current year.

BP Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.4362 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $1.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.93%. BP’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.92%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BP. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in BP in the 1st quarter worth $31,000. First United Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of BP in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new stake in BP during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of BP by 576.0% in the 4th quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,129 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 962 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BP during the fourth quarter worth approximately $46,000. 11.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on BP shares. Raymond James upped their target price on BP from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of BP from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of BP from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com lowered shares of BP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of BP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $38.60 to $42.30 in a report on Monday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.88.

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.