BP (NYSE:BP) Downgraded to “Strong Sell” Rating by Freedom Capital

Freedom Capital lowered shares of BP (NYSE:BP) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report issued on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on BP. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $51.00 price objective on shares of BP in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Scotiabank set a $41.00 price target on BP in a report on Friday, January 16th. Raymond James Financial dropped their price objective on BP from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 17th. HSBC cut shares of BP from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $38.50 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of BP from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.35.

BP Stock Performance

BP opened at $37.69 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.24 billion, a PE ratio of -3,764.74, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.26. BP has a 52-week low of $25.22 and a 52-week high of $39.51. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $35.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.12.

BP (NYSE:BP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.03. BP had a net margin of 0.03% and a return on equity of 9.68%. The business had revenue of $47.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $42.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.44 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that BP will post 3.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BP Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.4992 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 20th. BP’s dividend payout ratio is presently -19,800.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BP

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BP. Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BP by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 35,056 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $1,049,000 after purchasing an additional 2,470 shares in the last quarter. Ethic Inc. grew its holdings in shares of BP by 32.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 19,253 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $584,000 after purchasing an additional 4,699 shares during the last quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in BP during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $216,000. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS lifted its stake in BP by 1.6% in the 2nd 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 purchasing an additional 7,645 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transcend Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in BP by 2.7% in the second quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 35,694 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $1,068,000 after buying an additional 953 shares in the last quarter. 11.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting BP

Here are the key news stories impacting BP this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Renewed access to Venezuelan oil after a sanctions reset could materially expand BP’s long‑term upstream opportunity and reserve base, a bullish macro development for oil majors. Sanctions reset propels BP, Chevron and Shell back into Venezuela’s vast oil reserves
• Positive Sentiment: BP’s Q4 2025 prepared remarks/transcript provide the company’s narrative on results and outlook (quarterly revenue and EPS beat consensus), which likely supports near‑term investor confidence. Read management commentary for guidance and capital‑allocation signals. BP Q4 2025 Earnings Call Prepared Remarks Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Freedom Capital downgraded BP from “hold” to “strong sell,” adding downward analyst pressure and potential selling momentum. Freedom Capital downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple other broker actions: Wall Street Zen cut its rating and Melius Research cut BP to “Sell,” increasing consensus negativity among some shops. Wall Street Zen rating lowered Melius Research cut to Sell
• Negative Sentiment: TD Cowen trimmed its price target from $37 to $35 and kept a “hold” rating — an explicit near‑term downside bias relative to current levels. TD Cowen price target cut
• Negative Sentiment: Labor risk: negotiations with the United Steelworkers and strike preparations at the Whiting refinery pose operational and margin risk if talks sour. Monitor any escalation. BP, United Steelworkers negotiations continue
• Negative Sentiment: Capital allocation concerns: reports indicate buybacks are on hold while BP prioritizes the balance sheet, which reduces near‑term shareholder return upside. Buybacks halted
• Negative Sentiment: Questions about the renewables pivot after a reported $5.4B write‑down have reignited debate on project returns and strategy execution, a longer‑term headwind for sentiment. $5.4B write-down story

BP Company Profile

BP plc is a British multinational integrated energy company headquartered in London. Originating in the early 20th century as the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, BP has grown into one of the world’s largest oil and gas companies, operating across exploration and production, refining and marketing, trading, and a range of low-carbon businesses.

The company’s core activities include upstream exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas, midstream and trading operations, and downstream refining, marketing and supply of fuels, lubricants and petrochemicals.