Analysts Set BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) Target Price at $41.10

BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the nineteen research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $41.10.

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on BP from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of BP from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of BP to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. StockNews.com cut shares of BP from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, BNP Paribas lowered shares of BP from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th.

BP Price Performance

BP opened at $28.96 on Thursday. BP has a 1 year low of $27.82 and a 1 year high of $40.40. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $29.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.32. The firm has a market cap of $77.38 billion, a PE ratio of 30.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

BP (NYSE:BP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.05. BP had a net margin of 1.36% and a return on equity of 12.91%. The firm had revenue of $47.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $52.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.15 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that BP will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BP Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.63%. BP’s payout ratio is 200.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BP

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BP. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in BP in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $75,000. ORG Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of BP by 32.5% during the third quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 2,533 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 621 shares during the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in BP during the third quarter valued at $91,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in BP by 58.7% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 3,120 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $98,000 after acquiring an additional 1,154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of BP by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 4,549 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $143,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares during the last quarter. 11.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.