BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,170,000 shares, an increase of 61.7% from the July 31st total of 5,670,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 6,980,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.3 days. Approximately 0.3% of the shares of the company are sold short.

BP Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:BP opened at $34.24 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.73, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.65. BP has a 1 year low of $32.51 and a 1 year high of $40.84. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $34.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.24.

BP (NYSE:BP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.08. BP had a return on equity of 13.83% and a net margin of 3.60%. The business had revenue of $47.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.89 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that BP will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BP Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This is an increase from BP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.61%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 9th. BP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.56%.

Institutional Trading of BP

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BP. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in BP during the 4th quarter worth about $76,000. Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in BP by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 50,088 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $1,773,000 after buying an additional 2,400 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of BP by 45.9% during the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 10,332 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $366,000 after acquiring an additional 3,249 shares during the last quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BP in the fourth quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, First United Bank & Trust acquired a new position in BP during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Argus upgraded BP to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on BP from $47.00 to $42.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 12th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of BP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of BP from $41.00 to $39.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of BP to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.23.

BP Company Profile

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.