Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for BP (NYSE:BP) Stock

BP (NYSE:BP) had its target price increased by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $30.00 to $37.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the oil and gas exploration company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective points to a potential upside of 7.32% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on BP. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of BP in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. DZ Bank cut shares of BP from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com lowered shares of BP from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of BP from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on BP from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.64.

BP Price Performance

Shares of BP stock opened at $34.48 on Wednesday. BP has a 1 year low of $27.82 and a 1 year high of $40.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $30.68 and its 200-day moving average is $31.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.29, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.64.

BP (NYSE:BP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.12). BP had a return on equity of 12.91% and a net margin of 1.36%. Sell-side analysts forecast that BP will post 3.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of BP

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of BP during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Bank & Trust Co increased its holdings in BP by 404.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 2,120 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of BP by 41.0% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,221 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 646 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of BP by 32.5% during the third quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 2,533 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 621 shares during the period. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of BP by 58.7% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 3,120 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $98,000 after buying an additional 1,154 shares in the last quarter. 11.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.