D.A. Davidson & CO. Purchases 13,595 Shares of BP p.l.c. $BP

D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its holdings in shares of BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) by 14.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 110,111 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,595 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in BP were worth $4,844,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its stake in shares of BP by 48.8% in the 2nd quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 2,830,923 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $104,603,000 after acquiring an additional 928,617 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of BP by 290.2% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,049,151 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $75,716,000 after purchasing an additional 1,524,048 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of BP by 15.8% in the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,410,714 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $52,307,000 after buying an additional 192,211 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of BP in the 1st quarter valued at $28,136,000. Finally, Kahn Brothers Group Inc. bought a new position in BP during the second quarter worth about $23,094,000. 11.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BP shares. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of BP from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. HSBC raised BP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $46.00 to $51.30 in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of BP in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on shares of BP in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded BP from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, BP has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.44.

More BP News

Here are the key news stories impacting BP this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Major earnings beat: BP reported third-quarter underlying replacement-cost profit of approximately $8.5 billion, nearly four times the year-ago result of $2.21 billion. Reported EPS was $3.26 versus the $2.66 consensus, while revenue rose 41.8% year over year to $68.4 billion, exceeding estimates. BP third-quarter profit nearly quadruples
• Positive Sentiment: Refining and trading benefited from geopolitics: The Iran/Middle East conflict disrupted regional oil and refined-product supplies, lifting crude prices and refining margins. BP’s unaffected refineries and trading operations benefited from tighter global markets. BP net profit quadruples as Mideast war lifts oil prices
• Positive Sentiment: Balance-sheet improvement: BP reduced net debt by $8.4 billion to $13.9 billion, reportedly ahead of schedule. Lower leverage could improve financial flexibility and support shareholder returns ahead of the company’s December strategy update. BP slashes net debt as earnings soar
• Neutral Sentiment: No breakup discussions: CEO Meg O’Neill denied that BP has held discussions about splitting up the group. The comments reduce immediate speculation about a breakup-driven catalyst, while the broader portfolio and strategy remain in focus before December’s update. BP CEO denies breakup discussions
• Negative Sentiment: Quality and sustainability concerns remain: The earnings windfall is heavily exposed to temporary war-related oil prices and refining margins. BP also faced an approximately $4 billion charge tied to underperforming or failed green investments, highlighting execution risks in its energy-transition strategy. BP profits hit 18-year high despite net zero loss

BP Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of BP opened at $50.52 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $132.35 billion, a PE ratio of 14.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 0.20. BP p.l.c. has a 12 month low of $33.22 and a 12 month high of $51.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $45.96 and its 200-day moving average is $42.90.

BP (NYSE:BP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 30th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $3.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.66 by $0.60. The firm had revenue of $68.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.14 billion. BP had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 2.49%. The company’s revenue was up 41.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.85 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that BP p.l.c. will post 8.17 EPS for the current year.

BP Increases Dividend

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