BP (NYSE:BP) Price Target Raised to $37.00

BP (NYSE:BP) had its price objective lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $30.00 to $37.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the oil and gas exploration company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on BP. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of BP from $34.70 to $31.80 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of BP in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com downgraded BP from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. DZ Bank downgraded BP from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price objective on BP from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $39.64.

BP Price Performance

NYSE BP opened at $34.70 on Wednesday. BP has a 52 week low of $27.82 and a 52 week high of $40.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.53, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $30.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.33.

BP (NYSE:BP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.12). BP had a net margin of 1.36% and a return on equity of 12.91%. Equities research analysts anticipate that BP will post 3.35 earnings per share for the current year.

BP Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.53%. BP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2,375.00%.

Institutional Trading of BP

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of BP during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Bank & Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of BP by 404.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 2,120 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 1,700 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of BP by 41.0% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,221 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 646 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC raised its holdings in BP by 32.5% during the 3rd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 2,533 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 621 shares during the period. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in BP by 58.7% during 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 buying an additional 1,154 shares during the period. 11.01% of the stock is 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.