BP (NYSE:BP) Sets New 52-Week High After Earnings Beat

BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $35.96 and last traded at $35.9330, with a volume of 1415924 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $35.12.

The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.13. BP had a return on equity of 9.08% and a net margin of 0.29%.The firm had revenue of $48.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.76 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.83 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

BP Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be given a $0.4992 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. This is a positive change from BP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. BP’s dividend payout ratio is presently 938.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on BP from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Melius assumed coverage on BP in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $66.00 price objective for the company. BNP Paribas upgraded BP from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on BP from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded BP from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BP currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.59.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS grew its stake in BP by 1.6% in the second quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 485,409 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $14,528,000 after acquiring an additional 7,645 shares during the period. Corient IA LLC acquired a new position in BP in the first quarter valued at about $338,000. Gabelli Funds LLC grew its stake in BP by 2.5% in the first quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 358,800 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $12,124,000 after acquiring an additional 8,700 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in BP by 486.9% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,787,644 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $94,195,000 after acquiring an additional 2,312,687 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of BP by 119.7% during the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 33,148 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $992,000 after buying an additional 18,057 shares during the period. 11.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BP Stock Up 2.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The company has a market capitalization of $94.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 171.06, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.54. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $34.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $32.20.

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.