Wall Street Zen Downgrades BP (NYSE:BP) to Hold

BP (NYSE:BP) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Friday.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of BP in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $51.00 price target on shares of BP in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Bank of America lowered shares of BP from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Raymond James Financial reduced their target price on shares of BP from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of BP in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight 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, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.41.

BP Trading Up 3.1%

BP opened at $36.52 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $95.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.96, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company’s 50 day moving average is $35.30 and its 200-day moving average is $34.53. BP has a 1-year low of $25.22 and a 1-year high of $37.64.

BP (NYSE:BP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $48.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.76 billion. BP had a net margin of 0.79% and a return on equity of 9.07%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.83 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that BP will post 3.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of BP

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of BP by 14.6% in the 2nd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 57,784 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $1,729,000 after purchasing an additional 7,361 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its stake in BP by 127.9% in the second quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 9,554 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $286,000 after buying an additional 5,362 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BP by 743.3% during the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 1,754 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 1,546 shares in the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky grew its position in shares of BP by 12.5% during the 2nd quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 8,970 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $268,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in shares of BP by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 249,305 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $7,462,000 after acquiring an additional 2,555 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 11.01% of the company’s stock.

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.