TD Securities Increases BP (NYSE:BP) Price Target to $44.00

BP (NYSE:BP) had its price objective boosted by TD Securities from $43.00 to $44.00 in a research report released on Wednesday, BayStreet.CA reports. TD Securities currently has a buy rating on the oil and gas exploration company’s stock.

BP has been the subject of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of BP from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of BP from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of BP from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of BP from a hold rating to a buy rating and raised their price target for the stock from $38.60 to $42.30 in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of BP from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BP presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $43.88.

BP Price Performance

BP stock traded up $0.51 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $38.04. 7,566,262 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,617,147. BP has a 52 week low of $33.52 and a 52 week high of $40.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.21. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $107.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.67.

BP (NYSE:BP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.03 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $48.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $53.65 billion. BP had a net margin of 7.15% and a return on equity of 16.00%. BP’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.66 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that BP will post 5.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BP Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a dividend of $0.4362 per share. This represents a $1.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.59%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. BP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.79%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. First United Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in BP in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new stake in BP in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in BP by 576.0% in the 4th quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,129 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 962 shares in the last quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in BP during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO lifted its stake in BP by 73.1% during the 1st quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 1,575 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 665 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.01% of the company’s stock.

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.