<div id="readability-page-1"><p><span>BP (NYSE:BP - Get Free Report)</span> was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a &#34;buy&#34; rating to a &#34;strong-buy&#34; rating in a report issued on Friday.</p><ul><li>Kinder Morgan Stock Bid Up In An Oil Breakout</li></ul><p>Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Raymond James boosted their price target on BP from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an &#34;outperform&#34; rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. TD Securities boosted their price target on BP from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a &#34;buy&#34; rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on BP from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a &#34;sector outperform&#34; rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Erste Group Bank restated a &#34;hold&#34; rating on shares of BP in a report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo &amp; Company boosted their price objective on BP from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an &#34;equal weight&#34; rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of &#34;Moderate Buy&#34; and a consensus target price of $43.88.</p><p><b>View Our Latest Stock Report on BP</b></p><h2>BP Stock Down 0.6 %</h2><ul><li>Energy sector strength: Drill down with these refinery stocks</li></ul><p>Shares of NYSE BP traded down $0.20 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $35.51. The company had a trading volume of 6,500,546 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,996,401. BP has a 1-year low of $33.52 and a 1-year high of $40.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm's 50 day moving average is $37.27 and its 200-day moving average is $36.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.65. </p><p>BP (NYSE:BP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.03 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $48.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $53.65 billion. BP had a return on equity of 13.49% and a net margin of 4.51%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.66 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that BP will post 4.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. </p><h2>Institutional Investors Weigh In On BP</h2><ul><li>BP stock looks bullish on high dividend yield, new CEO</li></ul><p>Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BP. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in BP during the first quarter worth $31,000. First United Bank &amp; Trust bought a new stake in BP during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new stake in BP during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 962 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of BP during the fourth quarter worth $46,000. 11.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. </p><h2>About BP</h2> (Get Free Report)<p>BP p.l.c. provides carbon products and services. The company operates through Gas &amp; Low Carbon Energy, Oil Production &amp; Operations, and Customers &amp; 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.</p><h2>Read More</h2><ul><li>Five stocks we like better than BP</li><li>The How And Why of Investing in Oil Stocks</li><li>Sarepta Therapeutics Stock Soars on FDA Approval</li><li>What is the Nikkei 225 index?    </li><li>CarMax: A Market Melt-Up Waiting to Happen for this Stock</li><li>Quiet Period Expirations Explained</li><li>3 Solar Stocks to Watch that are Building the Green Energy Future</li></ul><p><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/RatingsChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5ZU0UmU3ltYm9sPUJQ?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="600" height="385" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/RatingsChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5ZU0UmU3ltYm9sPUJQ"/></p><p><em>This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.</em></p><p>→ Who are Nvidia’s Silent Partners? <span><span>(From Weiss Ratings)</span> <span>(Ad)</span></span><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/TriggeredCampaignPixel.ashx/query-UGxhY2VtZW50PU5hdGl2ZURpc3BsYXkmU291cmNlPU5hdGl2ZURpc3BsYXkmVHJpZ2dlcmVkQ2FtcGFpZ25JRD04NDIz?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" height="1" width="1" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/TriggeredCampaignPixel.ashx/query-UGxhY2VtZW50PU5hdGl2ZURpc3BsYXkmU291cmNlPU5hdGl2ZURpc3BsYXkmVHJpZ2dlcmVkQ2FtcGFpZ25JRD04NDIz"/></p><h2>Should you invest $1,000 in BP right now?</h2><p>Before you consider BP, you'll want to hear this.</p><p>MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. 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<p>BP (NYSE:BP) was upgraded from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating by StockNews.com. Other analysts also issued positive ratings for the company. BP's stock is currently trading at $35.51, with a 1-year low of $33.52 and a 1-year high of $40.84. The company reported lower earnings for the quarter, but analysts expect improved performance in the future. Institutional investors have made changes to their positions in BP. The company operates in the gas, low carbon energy, oil production, and operations sectors.</p>

BP (NYSE:BP) Upgraded at StockNews.com