BP (NYSE:BP) Reaches New 1-Year Low at $31.49

BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) shares hit a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $31.49 and last traded at $31.56, with a volume of 389265 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $31.80.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of BP from $47.00 to $42.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 12th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of BP in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $57.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of BP from $41.00 to $39.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com lowered BP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 29th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of BP to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.23.

BP Trading Down 2.0 %

The company has a market cap of $86.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $34.41 and a 200 day moving average of $36.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

BP (NYSE:BP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.08. BP had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 13.83%. The firm had revenue of $47.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.89 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that BP p.l.c. will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BP Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. This is a boost from BP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. BP’s payout ratio is 59.56%.

Institutional Trading of BP

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BP during the first quarter valued at $32,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in shares of BP during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. First United Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of BP in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new position in BP in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Guardian Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of BP by 576.0% in the fourth quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,129 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 962 shares during the last quarter. 11.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.