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

BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 10,650,000 shares, a decrease of 31.7% from the February 13th total of 15,600,000 shares. Approximately 0.4% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 11,140,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.0 days.

BP Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of BP stock opened at $33.76 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $90.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 422.00, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. BP has a 12-month low of $27.82 and a 12-month high of $40.40. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $32.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.22.

BP (NYSE:BP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.12). BP had a return on equity of 10.96% and a net margin of 0.20%. On average, analysts forecast that BP will post 3.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BP Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.69%. BP’s payout ratio is currently 2,375.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of BP from $34.70 to $31.80 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wolfe Research set a $50.00 target price on shares of BP in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of BP from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com lowered shares of BP from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, DZ Bank lowered shares of BP from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $38.26.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BP

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BP. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in BP by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 940,786 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $27,810,000 after buying an additional 38,759 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its position in BP by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 660,538 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $19,526,000 after buying an additional 14,436 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in BP by 30.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 474,957 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $14,040,000 after buying an additional 110,019 shares during the period. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS boosted its position in BP by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 465,242 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $13,753,000 after buying an additional 10,262 shares during the period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in BP by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 440,973 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $13,842,000 after purchasing an additional 5,150 shares during the last quarter. 11.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.