BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,890,000 shares, a decrease of 7.7% from the March 15th total of 6,380,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 9,000,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.7 days. Currently, 0.2% of the shares of the company are sold short.

BP Price Performance

Shares of BP stock traded down $0.45 on Tuesday, hitting $38.63. The company had a trading volume of 13,299,501 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,467,914. The company has a market cap of $108.78 billion, a PE ratio of 7.68, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.68. BP has a 52 week low of $33.52 and a 52 week high of $40.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.45.

BP (NYSE:BP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $52.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $53.14 billion. BP had a net margin of 7.15% and a return on equity of 16.00%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.59 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that BP will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BP Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 16th were issued a dividend of $0.4362 per share. This represents a $1.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.52%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. BP’s payout ratio is 33.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on BP. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of BP from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. TD Securities raised their price target on shares of BP from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of BP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $38.60 to $42.30 in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of BP from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price target on shares of BP from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, BP presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.22.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BP

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO purchased a new stake in shares of BP in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. First United Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of BP in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of BP during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Turim 21 Investimentos Ltda. purchased a new position in shares of BP during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, KB Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BP during the first quarter worth $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.01% of the company’s stock.

BP Company Profile

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.