BP Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:BP)

BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Traders acquired 660,563 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 2,902% compared to the average daily volume of 22,001 call options.

BP Stock Performance

BP stock traded up $0.49 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $39.02. The company had a trading volume of 9,437,441 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,095,822. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market cap of $102.32 billion, a PE ratio of -3,898.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.33. BP has a 12 month low of $25.22 and a 12 month high of $39.51. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $35.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.26.

BP (NYSE:BP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.03. BP had a net margin of 0.03% and a return on equity of 9.68%. The company had revenue of $47.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $42.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.44 EPS. BP’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that BP will post 3.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BP Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.4992 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 20th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.1%. BP’s dividend payout ratio is presently -19,800.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BP

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BP. Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its position in shares of BP by 39.1% in the fourth quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 1,808 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the period. Sagefield Capital LP raised its holdings in BP by 125.2% during the 4th quarter. Sagefield Capital LP now owns 493,556 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $17,141,000 after acquiring an additional 274,381 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC lifted its position in shares of BP by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 18,304 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $636,000 after acquiring an additional 999 shares in the last quarter. Milford Funds Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of BP in the fourth quarter valued at $8,335,000. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund purchased a new stake in BP during the 4th quarter worth about $17,768,000. 11.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on BP. Argus upgraded BP to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen cut BP from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Weiss Ratings raised BP from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Evercore set a $38.00 price target on shares of BP and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of BP from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.35.

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.