BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totaling 10,722,922 shares, a drop of 35.1% from the June 15th total of 16,532,927 shares. Approximately 0.4% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 11,892,327 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.9 days.

Key BP News

Here are the key news stories impacting BP this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BP is reportedly preparing a major Iraq investment alongside ConocoPhillips, including a stake sale tied to Kirkuk oilfields, which could expand production and strengthen BP’s upstream growth profile. BP, ConocoPhillips to back Iraq with major investments, CNBC reports
• Positive Sentiment: Citi’s view that BP’s biggest turnaround opportunity lies in its upstream oil and gas business supports the idea that the company is moving toward a more profitable, investor-friendly strategy. BP’s big opportunity is in its upstream oil and gas business – analyst
• Positive Sentiment: Options activity was unusually bullish, with call volume running well above average, which can signal rising trader interest ahead of the Iraq-related announcements.
• Neutral Sentiment: BP is shutting down its venture capital arm and selling most minority holdings, a portfolio simplification move that may improve capital discipline but also highlights a retreat from earlier clean-energy bets. ConocoPhillips to buy 42% stake in BP unit tied to Iraq’s Kirkuk oilfields
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts at Erste Group trimmed their FY2027 EPS estimate for BP slightly, which is a modest headwind but not a major change to the overall earnings outlook.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BP

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. ORG Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of BP by 16.2% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 2,038 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp lifted its stake in shares of BP by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 3,933 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $137,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in BP by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,597 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. grew its position in BP by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 36,721 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $1,275,000 after buying an additional 330 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in BP by 4.8% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 7,953 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $294,000 after buying an additional 366 shares in the last quarter. 11.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BP Stock Performance

Shares of BP stock traded up $0.58 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $41.66. The stock had a trading volume of 2,875,270 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,676,085. The firm has a market cap of $109.10 billion, a PE ratio of 34.71, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.17. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $41.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.87. BP has a fifty-two week low of $31.58 and a fifty-two week high of $48.27.

BP (NYSE:BP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $52.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $48.50 billion. BP had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 1.62%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.53 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that BP will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current year.

BP Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.4992 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. BP’s dividend payout ratio is currently 165.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen increased their price objective on BP from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of BP in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of BP from $39.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of BP from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $49.40 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of BP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BP currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.64.

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.