105,535 BP p.l.c. $BP Shares Sold by Mondrian Investment Partners LTD

Mondrian Investment Partners LTD decreased its holdings in shares of BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,976,233 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock after selling 105,535 shares during the period. BP comprises approximately 3.8% of Mondrian Investment Partners LTD’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD’s holdings in BP were worth $174,914,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BP. Evergreen Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in BP by 33.3% during the third quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 104,352 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $4,590,000 after purchasing an additional 26,062 shares during the last quarter. Gibbs Wealth Management boosted its holdings in BP by 46.2% during the third quarter. Gibbs Wealth Management now owns 29,073 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $1,279,000 after buying an additional 9,184 shares in the last quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in BP in the third quarter worth approximately $67,000. Curry Webb Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in BP in the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of BP in the third quarter valued at $107,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.01% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about BP

Here are the key news stories impacting BP this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Deepwater Horizon disputes nearing resolution: BP and the State of Louisiana agreed to resolve long-standing matters related to the 2010 disaster. The agreement should reduce legal and regulatory uncertainty, although financial terms were not detailed in the announcement. BP and the State of Louisiana agree to resolve long-standing matters and open a new chapter
• Positive Sentiment: Valuation support ahead of earnings: Citi reiterated its “buy” rating and £6.80 price target, arguing that BP trades at a substantial discount to major oil peers. This could attract investors ahead of the company’s third-quarter results. BP valuation discount offers opportunity ahead of results, says Citi
• Positive Sentiment: Deepwater growth partnership: TechnipFMC signed a memorandum of understanding to support BP’s high-pressure subsea projects in the U.S. Gulf, including Kaskida and Tiber. The agreement supports BP’s longer-term production pipeline, though it also implies future capital spending. TechnipFMC Signs MoU With BP to Support Deepwater Oil Projects
• Positive Sentiment: Renewables expansion: Lightsource bp received a land-use permit for a 322-megawatt solar park in Colorado, advancing BP’s renewable-energy pipeline and diversification beyond oil and gas. Lightsource bp wins land use permit for 322-MW solar park in Colorado
• Neutral Sentiment: Options activity is elevated: Reports highlight unusual movements in BP’s options market, but do not establish whether traders are positioning for a rise or decline. Investors should avoid treating the activity alone as a definitive signal. Do Options Traders Know Something About BP Stock We Don’t?
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings are the next major catalyst: BP is expected to report quarterly results on Friday, making oil prices, production and cash flow key near-term drivers. BP Expected to Announce Quarterly Earnings on Friday
• Negative Sentiment: North Sea retreat highlights portfolio concerns: BP’s exit from parts of the UK North Sea reflects declining production and high taxation, potentially reducing regional output even as the company reallocates capital to other projects. As BP Leaves the North Sea, These Independents Are Buying In

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on BP shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of BP in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Zacks Research upgraded BP from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on BP in a report on Thursday, October 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. HSBC raised BP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $46.00 to $51.30 in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised BP from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.44.

BP Trading Up 2.5%

BP stock opened at $51.31 on Friday. BP p.l.c. has a 12 month low of $33.22 and a 12 month high of $51.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $134.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 0.20. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.73.

BP (NYSE:BP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The oil and gas exploration company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.35. BP had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 2.49%. The business had revenue of $69.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $57.89 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share. BP’s quarterly revenue was up 106.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that BP p.l.c. will post 8.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BP Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 18th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th were given a dividend of $0.5196 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. This is a boost from BP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.4992. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. BP’s payout ratio is 100.49%.

BP Company Profile

BP p.l.c. is a global integrated energy company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. Its operations span the exploration, development and production of oil and natural gas, as well as the processing, refining, transportation and marketing of energy products.

Through its businesses, BP supplies fuels for road transportation, aviation and marine use, along with lubricants marketed under the Castrol brand. The company also operates retail fuel and convenience locations and provides energy products and services to commercial and industrial customers.

BP has expanded its activities beyond traditional hydrocarbons to include lower-carbon businesses such as renewable power, bioenergy, electric-vehicle charging and hydrogen.