BP (NYSE:BP) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of BP (NYSE:BP) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Saturday.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on BP. Bank of America lowered BP from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $51.00 target price on shares of BP in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of BP in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of BP in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of BP from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.41.

BP Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:BP opened at $37.70 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $35.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.79. BP has a one year low of $25.22 and a one year high of $38.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.27 billion, a PE ratio of 64.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.33.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BP

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BP. Strategic Advocates LLC acquired a new position in shares of BP in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in BP in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in BP during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. YANKCOM Partnership lifted 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. Finally, Acima Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of BP in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. 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.