BP (NYSE:BP) Downgraded by DZ Bank to “Sell”

DZ Bank cut shares of BP (NYSE:BP) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of BP from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on BP from $34.70 to $31.80 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of BP in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of BP from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of BP from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, BP has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.76.

BP Price Performance

BP stock opened at $34.55 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $30.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.34. BP has a 1 year low of $27.82 and a 1 year high of $40.40. The stock has a market cap of $92.50 billion, a PE ratio of 36.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

BP (NYSE:BP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.44 earnings per share 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%. Equities analysts forecast that BP will post 3.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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