BP p.l.c. (LON:BP) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

BP p.l.c. (LON:BP) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is GBX 645 ($8.24).

BP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a GBX 550 ($7.02) price objective on shares of BP in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a GBX 500 ($6.38) price objective on shares of BP in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of BP in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a GBX 650 ($8.30) price target on shares of BP in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Berenberg Bank reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a GBX 510 ($6.51) price objective on shares of BP in a research note on Monday, August 5th.

Insider Buying and Selling at BP

In other BP news, insider Hina Nagarajan acquired 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of GBX 460 ($5.87) per share, with a total value of £23,000 ($29,366.70). In other news, insider Murray Auchincloss bought 87 shares of BP stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of GBX 434 ($5.54) per share, for a total transaction of £377.58 ($482.10). Also, insider Hina Nagarajan purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of GBX 460 ($5.87) per share, for a total transaction of £23,000 ($29,366.70). Insiders have acquired 10,099 shares of company stock valued at $4,488,269 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

BP Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of LON:BP opened at GBX 441.25 ($5.63) on Friday. BP has a fifty-two week low of GBX 389.77 ($4.98) and a fifty-two week high of GBX 562.30 ($7.18). The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 79.91. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is GBX 458.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is GBX 479.73. The company has a market cap of £72.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,337.12, a PEG ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 0.52.

BP Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 8th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 8th. This represents a yield of 1.37%. This is a boost from BP’s previous dividend of $0.07. BP’s payout ratio is presently 6,969.70%.

About BP

BP p.l.c. provides carbon products and services. The company operates through Gas & Low Carbon Energy, Oil Production & Operations, and Customers & Products segments. It engages in the production of natural gas, and integrated gas and power; trading of gas; operation of onshore and offshore wind power, as well as hydrogen and carbon capture and storage facilities; trading and marketing of renewable and non-renewable power; and production of crude oil.