SG Americas Securities LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in BP p.l.c. $BP

SG Americas Securities LLC lessened its position in BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) by 16.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 108,934 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock after selling 20,694 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in BP were worth $5,120,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strategic Advocates LLC acquired a new position in BP in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. YANKCOM Partnership grew its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of BP during the third quarter worth $43,000. LRI Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of BP by 76.2% in the fourth quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 1,276 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its position in BP by 100.0% during the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 1,300 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. 11.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BP Price Performance

NYSE:BP opened at $37.33 on Tuesday. BP p.l.c. has a 52 week low of $29.85 and a 52 week high of $48.27. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $43.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.64. The company has a market capitalization of $97.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

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. The business had revenue of $52.26 billion during 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 company’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.53 EPS. Equities analysts expect that BP p.l.c. will post 5.24 EPS for the current year.

BP Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.4992 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.3%. BP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 164.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on BP shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of BP from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $49.40 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Argus upgraded BP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on BP from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on BP from $39.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane set a $57.00 target price on BP and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BP presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.14.

BP 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.