BP (NYSE:BP) Sees Strong Trading Volume on Analyst Upgrade

BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Tuesday after Zacks Research upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating. Approximately 8,771,293 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 33% from the previous session’s volume of 13,042,871 shares.The stock last traded at $47.9910 and had previously closed at $47.35.

BP has been the subject of several other reports. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $51.00 price objective on shares of BP in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of BP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. Melius Research downgraded shares of BP from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $31.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Scotiabank raised shares of BP to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Bank of America lowered BP from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.18.

More BP News

Here are the key news stories impacting BP this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded BP to a “Strong Buy”, which supports demand for the shares by highlighting improved earnings prospects and income/value appeal. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Azule Energy (the Eni–BP JV) plans to sell stakes in Angola Blocks 14 and 14K for up to $310M — a monetization that trims non-core exposure and generates cash to redeploy or return to shareholders. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: BP completed small retail asset sales (13 Thorntons c-stores), consistent with portfolio sharpening and cash generation efforts. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Meg O’Neill formally became CEO and pledged “consistency” and clearer direction — this reduces some strategy flip-flop risk but leaves execution and investor trust to be proven. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage notes the challenges the new CEO faces and broader governance scrutiny; management clarity may be positive long-term but creates near-term uncertainty. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: News about former CEO Bernard Looney taking a role at a data-center developer is unlikely to affect BP’s operations or near-term fundamentals. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Labor disruption risk: Indiana’s governor joined locked-out BP refinery workers on the picket line amid a contract impasse — a potential source of production disruption, higher costs, or reputational risk if escalated. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Despite positive analyst notes, the stock is trading lower today with heavy volume — indicative of profit-taking or risk-off by traders reacting to management transition and labor headlines. Read More.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Strategic Advocates LLC purchased a new stake in BP in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of BP during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of BP during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. YANKCOM Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of BP by 1,068.3% in the fourth quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 958 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 876 shares during the period. Finally, Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in BP in the third quarter worth approximately $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.01% of the company’s stock.

BP Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.26. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.89. The company has a market capitalization of $121.15 billion, a PE ratio of -4,615.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.21.

BP (NYSE:BP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $47.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $42.19 billion. BP had a return on equity of 9.68% and a net margin of 0.03%.The business’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.44 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that BP p.l.c. will post 3.53 EPS for the current year.

BP Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $0.4992 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 20th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. BP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -19,800.00%.

About BP

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.