BP (NYSE:BP) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $44.61, but opened at $45.69. BP shares last traded at $46.5670, with a volume of 11,017,409 shares trading hands.

More BP News

Here are the key news stories impacting BP this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BP agreed to sell its Gelsenkirchen refinery to Klesch Group and raised its cost?reduction target by about $1bn, which should improve margins and free cash flow. BP divests Gelsenkirchen refinery, increases cost reduction goal
• Positive Sentiment: U.S. approval to advance a Gulf of Mexico project supports upstream production growth and long?term reserves replacement. BP Granted Approval to Advance Gulf of Mexico Project
• Positive Sentiment: BP, alongside partners, is shipping record volumes of U.S. fuels to Australia to fill supply gaps — a near?term boost to product margins and trading income. Exxon, BP, Vitol ship most US fuels to Australia
• Positive Sentiment: HSBC upgraded BP to “hold” and raised its price target, a modest vote of confidence from an analyst that may limit downside. HSBC upgrades BP from reduce to hold
• Neutral Sentiment: BP announced a move of its global HQ back to central London (Bankside), a corporate?structure update with limited immediate financial impact but some relocation costs to consider. BP moves back to central London
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst writeups highlight BP as a long?term value play based on cash flow and dividends; useful for buy?and?hold investors but not an immediate price mover. Why BP is a Top Value Stock for the Long?Term
• Negative Sentiment: BP has locked out more than 800 union workers at the Whiting, Indiana refinery; ongoing pickets and a protracted labor dispute could disrupt refining throughput and raise costs. Locked out BP workers picket outside Indiana refinery
• Negative Sentiment: BP and peers face an anticompetitive conduct probe in Australia tied to fuel shipments — potential regulatory scrutiny and fines could weigh on sentiment. BP, Exxon Mobil units face anticompetitive conduct probe in Australia

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen dropped their target price on BP from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. Melius Research downgraded BP from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $31.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Argus upgraded BP to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered BP from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $38.50 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of BP in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BP currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $38.28.

BP Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.23. The stock has a market cap of $117.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4,471.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

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

BP Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.4992 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 20th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. BP’s dividend payout ratio is presently -19,700.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BP

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BP. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT bought a new position in shares of BP during the 4th quarter valued at about $67,890,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund bought a new position in BP in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $17,768,000. Sagefield Capital LP boosted its holdings in shares of BP by 125.2% in the fourth quarter. Sagefield Capital LP now owns 493,556 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $17,141,000 after buying an additional 274,381 shares during the period. Milford Funds Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of BP during the fourth quarter worth $8,335,000. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in BP by 206.0% in the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 252,849 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $7,568,000 after acquiring an additional 170,221 shares in the last quarter. 11.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About BP

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.