Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on BP (NYSE:BP)

BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Traders bought 35,593 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 46% compared to the typical volume of 24,339 call options.

BP Price Performance

BP stock opened at $29.13 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. BP has a 52-week low of $27.82 and a 52-week high of $40.40. The firm has a market cap of $7.88 billion, a PE ratio of 30.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.65. The company’s 50 day moving average is $30.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.47.

BP (NYSE:BP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $47.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $52.05 billion. BP had a return on equity of 12.91% and a net margin of 1.36%. BP’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.15 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that BP will post 3.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BP Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.59%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. BP’s dividend payout ratio is presently 200.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on BP shares. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of BP from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. HSBC cut BP from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. BNP Paribas downgraded BP from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of BP to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Scotiabank downgraded BP from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $42.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.73.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BP

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BP during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in shares of BP during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BP in the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its position in shares of BP by 85.7% in the 2nd quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 1,300 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. Finally, Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO increased its position in BP by 29.1% during the second quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 2,034 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 459 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.01% of the company’s stock.

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.