Short Interest in BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) Decreases By 34.2%

BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 8,045,280 shares, a drop of 34.2% from the January 15th total of 12,230,839 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 7,642,066 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.1 days. Currently, 0.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Currently, 0.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 7,642,066 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.1 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BP

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Santander upgraded BP to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on BP from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered BP from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $38.50 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of BP in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of BP in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Two 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.35.

BP Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of BP stock traded up $0.50 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $37.69. The company had a trading volume of 7,459,041 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,194,334. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company’s 50-day moving average is $35.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.14. The company has a market cap of $98.24 billion, a P/E ratio of -3,764.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.33. BP has a twelve month low of $25.22 and a twelve month high of $39.51.

BP (NYSE:BP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $47.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $42.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.44 earnings per share. BP’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that BP will post 3.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BP Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 20th will be given a $0.4992 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 20th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.3%. BP’s dividend payout ratio is -19,700.00%.

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.