BP (NYSE:BP) Coverage Initiated at Mizuho

Mizuho started coverage on shares of BP (NYSE:BP) in a research report issued on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage set an “outperform” rating and a $51.00 price target on the oil and gas exploration company’s stock. Mizuho’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 19.30% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Argus raised shares of BP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Zacks Research lowered shares of BP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 25th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of BP in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of BP from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of BP from $39.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BP presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.98.

BP Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BP opened at $42.75 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $111.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.17. The business’s 50 day moving average is $41.31 and its 200-day moving average is $41.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. BP has a 1-year low of $31.58 and a 1-year high of $48.27.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $52.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $0.53 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that BP will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BP

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. YANKCOM Partnership raised its position in shares of BP by 1,068.3% in the 4th quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 958 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 876 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of BP during the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in BP in the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. LRI Investments LLC raised its position in BP by 76.2% during the fourth quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 1,276 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new stake in BP during the second quarter worth $46,000. 11.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.