Piper Sandler Issues Positive Forecast for BP (NYSE:BP) Stock Price

BP (NYSE:BP) had its price objective upped by Piper Sandler from $42.00 to $43.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has a neutral rating on the oil and gas exploration company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on BP. TD Cowen raised their target price on BP from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of BP from $54.00 to $48.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of BP from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. UBS Group upgraded shares of BP from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of BP from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BP has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.36.

BP Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of BP opened at $41.61 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $41.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $108.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.16. BP has a 12-month low of $32.72 and a 12-month high of $48.27.

BP (NYSE:BP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $69.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $57.89 billion. BP had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 2.49%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 106.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that BP will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current year.

BP Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.5196 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This is a positive change from BP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.0%. BP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 96.59%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT acquired a new stake in BP during the 4th quarter valued at $67,890,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of BP by 15.8% during the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,410,714 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $52,307,000 after purchasing an additional 192,211 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of BP during the first quarter worth $28,136,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund acquired a new stake in shares of BP in the fourth quarter valued at $17,768,000. Finally, Sagefield Capital LP raised its holdings in shares of BP by 125.2% in the fourth quarter. Sagefield Capital LP now owns 493,556 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $17,141,000 after buying an additional 274,381 shares during the last quarter. 11.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about BP

Here are the key news stories impacting BP this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BP agreed to acquire Woodside Energy’s 70% stake in the Calypso gas project offshore Trinidad and Tobago, giving BP full ownership and operatorship of the early-stage deepwater development. The deal could strengthen BP’s regional gas position and future production pipeline, although the project remains at an early stage. BP to acquire Woodside’s stake in Calypso project
• Positive Sentiment: BP is pursuing sales of its Archaea Energy renewable natural gas business and other noncore assets, including North Sea interests. The moves support CEO Meg O’Neill’s strategy to simplify the portfolio, focus capital on higher-priority projects and potentially improve profitability. BP to sell landfill RNG business Archaea Energy
• Neutral Sentiment: Piper Sandler raised its BP price target from $42 to $43 while maintaining a “neutral” rating. The modest increase indicates limited near-term conviction despite acknowledging some potential upside. Piper Sandler raises BP price target
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts highlighted BP’s North Sea asset sale, updated production guidance and higher interim dividend following a strong first half. The transactions may improve capital allocation, but investors are assessing whether BP’s recent share-price gains already reflect the benefits. BP sells North Sea assets
• Neutral Sentiment: A potential Brazilian megaproject could provide BP with a long-term growth region as existing pre-salt developments mature, but the opportunity remains dependent on exploration and project execution. Brazil megaproject
• Negative Sentiment: BP’s former finance chief warned that the UK Treasury could lose billions in tax revenue and relief from Labour’s planned North Sea shutdown. The report underscores regulatory and fiscal uncertainty surrounding BP’s UK operations. North Sea shutdown to cost Treasury billions
• Negative Sentiment: A nearly five-month labor lockout at BP’s Whiting refinery remains an operational and employee-relations concern, potentially creating disruption and additional costs. BP Whiting refinery labor lockout

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.