BP Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:BP)

BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock investors acquired 32,885 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 47% compared to the typical volume of 22,402 call options.

Trending Headlines about BP

Here are the key news stories impacting BP this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BP is expected to announce billions of dollars of new investments in Iraq alongside ConocoPhillips, a move that could expand BP’s upstream footprint and support long-term production growth. BP, ConocoPhillips to back Iraq with major investment as U.S. seeks to cut Iran’s energy hold
• Positive Sentiment: Citi says BP’s biggest turnaround opportunity is in reshaping its upstream oil and gas business, reinforcing the view that the company is moving away from its prior renewables-heavy strategy. BP’s big opportunity is in its upstream oil and gas business – analyst
• Positive Sentiment: BP and ConocoPhillips are also tied to a broader redevelopment effort in Iraq’s Kirkuk oilfields, adding another upstream catalyst for BP. ConocoPhillips to buy 42% stake in BP unit tied to Iraq’s Kirkuk oilfields
• Neutral Sentiment: BP is shutting down BP Ventures and selling most minority holdings in its venture portfolio, a portfolio-optimization and deleveraging move that may improve focus but also signals a pullback from some growth bets. Oil giant BP shutters its corporate venture arm after 20 years
• Neutral Sentiment: Erste Group trimmed its FY2027 EPS estimate for BP slightly, which is a mild headwind but not a major change versus the broader earnings outlook. BP, ConocoPhillips to back Iraq with major investments, CNBC reports
• Negative Sentiment: The lower earnings estimate adds some caution around BP’s near-term profit trajectory, even though it remains below consensus only modestly. BP, ConocoPhillips to back Iraq with major investments, CNBC reports

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Argus upgraded shares of BP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, May 11th. BNP Paribas Exane set a $57.00 price target on shares of BP and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. UBS Group raised BP from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Scotiabank increased their target price on BP from $41.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of BP in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.64.

BP Stock Up 2.0%

BP stock opened at $41.91 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $41.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.05. BP has a 12 month low of $31.58 and a 12 month high of $48.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $109.75 billion, a PE ratio of 34.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.17.

BP (NYSE:BP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.24. BP had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 1.62%.The company had revenue of $52.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $48.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.53 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that BP will post 5.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BP Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BP

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

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.