BP (NYSE:BP) Stock Rating Lowered by Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of BP (NYSE:BP) from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating in a report released on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat reports.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on BP. TD Securities upped their price objective on shares of BP from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. StockNews.com lowered BP from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report on Saturday, June 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on BP from $41.00 to $39.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a hold rating on shares of BP in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of BP to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $44.23.

BP Price Performance

BP opened at $33.26 on Wednesday. BP has a 12-month low of $32.51 and a 12-month high of $40.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.43, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.65. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $35.29 and a 200-day moving average of $36.52.

BP (NYSE:BP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $47.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.82 billion. BP had a return on equity of 13.83% and a net margin of 3.60%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.89 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that BP will post 4.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BP Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. This is a positive change from BP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.77%. BP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.56%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BP

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of BP during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. First United Bank & Trust bought a new position in BP in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in shares of BP during the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Quent Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of BP in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Guardian Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in BP by 576.0% during the fourth quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,129 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 962 shares during the period. 11.01% of the stock is currently owned by 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.