Cozad Asset Management Inc. Increases Holdings in BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP)

Cozad Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) by 92.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 43,818 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,064 shares during the quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in BP were worth $1,295,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in BP during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Bank & Trust Co grew its holdings in BP by 404.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 2,120 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 1,700 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 646 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 1,154 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in BP by 26.9% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC now owns 7,550 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $223,000 after acquiring an additional 1,600 shares during the period. 11.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BP Stock Performance

Shares of BP stock opened at $33.76 on Tuesday. BP p.l.c. has a one year low of $27.82 and a one year high of $40.40. The company has a market cap of $90.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 422.00, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.25. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $32.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.22.

BP (NYSE:BP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.12). BP had a return on equity of 10.96% and a net margin of 0.20%. On average, research analysts predict that BP p.l.c. will post 3.53 EPS for the current year.

BP Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.69%. BP’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2,375.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on BP shares. StockNews.com lowered BP from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on BP from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of BP in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Raymond James raised their price objective on BP from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised BP from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $38.26.

BP Profile

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.