BP (NYSE:BP) Downgraded to “Underweight” Rating by Morgan Stanley

BP (NYSE:BP) was downgraded by analysts at Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Marketbeat reports. They presently have a $26.50 price objective on the oil and gas exploration company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would indicate a potential downside of 13.29% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on BP. DZ Bank downgraded shares of BP from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on BP from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Wolfe Research set a $50.00 target price on BP in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of BP in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, UBS Group downgraded shares of BP from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $36.06.

BP Stock Performance

BP opened at $30.56 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.59. BP has a 1 year low of $25.22 and a 1 year high of $38.16. The company has a market capitalization of $82.97 billion, a PE ratio of 382.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.51.

BP (NYSE:BP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.03). BP had a net margin of 0.20% and a return on equity of 10.96%. The business had revenue of $46.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.97 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that BP will post 3.53 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BP by 2,250.0% during the 1st quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 940 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co raised its position in BP by 400.0% in the first quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 1,000 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of BP by 178.0% during the first quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 1,034 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 662 shares in the last quarter. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of BP in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in BP in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 11.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About BP

BP p.l.c. provides carbon products and services. The company operates through Gas & Low Carbon Energy, Oil Production & Operations, and Customers & Products segments. It engages in the production of natural gas, and integrated gas and power; trading of gas; operation of onshore and offshore wind power, as well as hydrogen and carbon capture and storage facilities; trading and marketing of renewable and non-renewable power; and production of crude oil.