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BP. Bp Plc

495.70
2.90 (0.59%)
28 Mar 2024 - Closed
Delayed by 15 minutes
Bp Investors - BP.

Bp Investors - BP.

Share Name Share Symbol Market Stock Type
Bp Plc BP. London Ordinary Share
  Price Change Price Change % Share Price Last Trade
2.90 0.59% 495.70 16:35:27
Open Price Low Price High Price Close Price Previous Close
495.45 493.30 498.75 495.70 492.80
more quote information »
Industry Sector
OIL & GAS PRODUCERS

Top Investor Posts

Top Posts
Posted at 20/3/2024 08:25 by zztop
Almost all of BP's biggest shareholders are unhappy with its shift to green energy, an activist investor has claimed, amid a growing backlash over the oil giant's focus on net zero targets.Giuseppe Bivona, chief investment officer of Bluebell Capital, which has a minority stake in BP, said he had spent the past three weeks talking to many of the company's top 30 investors.He said: "With only the exception of one shareholder, I am still to find someone who supports BP in its entirety."Bluebell is spearheading a brewing investor revolt after sending a 30-page letter to the FTSE 100 company in January.In the letter it urged BP to halt investment in renewable energy schemes, prioritise oil and gas production, and rewrite net zero targets to clarify that they will be achieved "in line with society".BP has been under increasing pressure over net zero commitments that have allegedly left shareholders £40bn poorer.Mr Bivona said he plans to share negative feedback with BP on a no-name basis, which he said will "clearly expose them to the fact that many investors are sympathetic to what we are saying". https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/03/16/almost-all-top-bp-shareholders-unhappy-green-strategy/
Posted at 20/2/2024 23:26 by pj84
An excerpt from the above Questor article: -

"....

While the company’s fourth-quarter profits were ahead of market forecasts, its announcement of a $1.75bn (£1.4bn) share buyback programme, to be completed before the release of its first-quarter results, appears to have resonated with investors.

Furthermore, the company said it was committed to announcing a further $3.5bn in share buybacks for the first half of the current financial year as part of plans to return at least 80pc of surplus cash flow to shareholders. This could mean the repurchase of around $14bn of its shares in aggregate over the 2024 and 2025 financial years.

In Questor’s view, BP’s ambitious share buyback plan is entirely logical because it offers excellent value for money. The company’s shares trade at just seven times forecast earnings, which grossly undervalues their long-term prospects even when compared with a dirt-cheap London stock market.

And with net debt marginally declining to $20.9bn in the 2023 financial year, to give BP a net gearing ratio of just 25pc, it does not need to use any surplus cash to reduce leverage.

Its improving financial position also means greater stability and therefore growing appeal for income investors. Dividends rose by 10pc year-on-year in the fourth quarter and were covered a healthy 2.4 times by earnings despite the fall in profits. The company’s shares now yield 4.8pc, against 3.9pc for the FTSE 100 index.

...."
Posted at 28/1/2024 09:22 by veryniceperson
They have been saving millions of pounds by the share buyback program and cancellations. I'm sure we'll get a dividend rise. I would be very surprised, and so would other investors. The big question for me is. Will they carry on with the share buybacks come the next financial year?
Posted at 02/1/2024 10:59 by pj84
From the article below on the dividends being be paid by the 5 major oil companies: -

"BP used its second-quarter results last year to tell shareholders to expect a 10% dividend raise in 2023, well above its initial guidance. The company had promised to raise the dividend by 4% each year and buy back about $4bn of shares, assuming the oil price was about $60 a barrel, but over the previous four quarters BP had repurchased $10bn of shares and increased its dividend by 20%. The handouts were particularly surprising after the company reported a deeper-than-expected profit slump. They were welcomed by investors, amid concern among some about the plans of the former chief executive Bernard Looney to “reimagine” BP as a net zero energy company by 2050."
Posted at 17/12/2023 20:30 by gwatson56
Thanks for that PJ84. Interesting times given the share price is bumping the bottom at the moment. I agree with the author that there will be people running the numbers. I once thought Exxon would be a candidate but now think the 'activist investor' route may be an option as well as a 'left field bid'. I suppose Saudi Aramco could take a peep... it has the deep pockets as well as an opportunity re Rosneft given relations with Russia. Still once BP has a new leadership team the ship should set course for a clear destination. The first 6 months of 2024 should enlighten us all.
Posted at 13/12/2023 20:42 by pj84
"BP

Shares in BP (GB:BP) are trading at an even lower valuation than rival Shell, at just 6.5 times forecast earnings for the next 12 months.

As with Shell, BP is focusing on maximising the cash flows from its existing 36 billion barrels of oil equivalent reserves and using the proceeds for dividends and buybacks.

Some investors are concerned that BP’s push into greener investments such as biofuels, wind energy and electric vehicle charging stations will not be as profitable as investing in oil and gas.

But top-performing fund manager Abishek Periwal, who holds the shares in his Goldman Sachs International Equity Income fund, believes the company has adopted a ‘proactive strategy in the energy transition theme’.

‘BP is pivoting from an international oil company to an integrated energy company, which has been, and we believe will continue to be, positive for its longer-term growth prospects,’ he said in his latest update to investors.

BP’s top Elite Investors
Elite Investor Fund Size in fund Rank in fund
Steven Magill UBS UK Equity Income Fund 8.6% 1/36
Martin Walker Invesco UK Equity 6.8% 1/36
Ed Meier Jupiter UK Alpha Fund (IRL) 4.9% 3/31
Sources: Citywire / Morningstar, latest holdings data."
Posted at 09/11/2023 18:26 by gwatson56
Questor note in the Daily Telegraph....

For all the uncertainty over BP’s strategy, we can be confident that share price gains lie ahead

Story by Robert Stephens •

The future is perennially uncertain for every company. Even the most knowledgeable and experienced investors do not know what will ultimately happen to any company’s share price. Even if they argue otherwise. However, there are times where uncertainty is particularly heightened.

Following our analysis of Shell on Tuesday and of Italy’s ENI on Monday, we conclude this week’s short series on oil companies with BP – a business that faces a hugely opaque outlook, largely as a result of its muddled strategy.

In 2020 it announced ambitious plans to turn towards renewables in response to the world’s expected transition to net zero. However, it has since watered down those plans, thanks in part to an elevated oil price as well as an increasingly cautious industry consensus on how quickly net zero can happen and how profitable it can be.

In addition, the company is without a permanent chief executive after Bernard Looney stood down in September. Until a new permanent boss is announced, which appears unlikely in the near term because of the abrupt nature of Looney’s resignation, the future direction of the business seems likely to remain unresolved. Ultimately, though, fossil fuels are widely expected to remain a key part of the world’s energy mix for decades to come. They are therefore likely to deliver high levels of profits and cash flow for energy businesses over the coming years. At the same time, renewables are arguably most accurately described as a potential long-term growth opportunity that does not appear to offer high returns in the short run.

Despite its lack of a clear strategy, BP’s shares have been extremely strong since we tipped them in August 2021. They have soared by 61pc and in doing so have trounced the FTSE 100 index’s paltry 4pc rise over the same period.

Their prospects are aided by a continued low valuation: they trade at about seven times forecast earnings, which suggests a wide margin of safety.

In Questor’s view, this bargain valuation is key to their investment appeal during a highly uncertain period for the business; even though BP’s strategy is likely to be confirmed only once a new management team is in place, its share price fully factors this in. The share price also more than adequately compensates investors for an uncertain outlook for the global economy, whose rate of growth is expected to fall from 3.5pc last year to 3pc this year and 2.9pc in 2024. And, because the full impact of rapid rises in interest rate has yet to be felt owing to the existence of time lags, the prospects for oil and gas prices are highly uncertain.

However, if we assume that interest rates will fall over the next two years as the era of rampant inflation comes to an end, the outlook for the world economy is extremely likely to improve. There are also geopolitical risks that could support fossil fuel prices and BP’s performance over the coming years.

The company’s market value has declined following the recent release of its third-quarter results. Its shares have fallen by 13pc over the past three weeks and could prove volatile over the short run. Although the company reported growth in underlying profits of 27pc compared with the previous quarter, they were 60pc lower than in the same period last year. This was largely due to weak results from gas marketing and trading, which more than offset buoyant refining margins and a strong result from oil trading.

The third-quarter dividend was held at around 6p a share, which means the stock currently yields around 5pc on an annualised basis.

The company also announced a further $1.5bn (£1.22bn) repurchase of its own shares, which is underpinned by continued robust cash flow generation, while net debt fell by nearly 6pc relative to the previous quarter. As a result the company has a relatively modest net gearing ratio of 26pc.

As ever, Questor believes that the best time to buy any high-quality stock is when its market valuation reflects elevated near-term uncertainty. On that basis, BP remains a buy. Its wide margin of safety, solid fundamentals and a growing realisation among investors that fossil fuels can provide generous returns for many years to come mean that further capital gains are ahead.

Questor says: buy

Ticker: BP

Share price at close: 481.05p
Posted at 31/10/2023 09:31 by pj84
some extracts from the above article: -

...

"The company has been left highly-vulnerable to an opportunistic swoop, first by the sudden departure of boss Bernard Looney, and now by what could prove to be a final wave of industry consolidation unleashed in America."

...

"It is the deal that keeps getting away. In his memoirs Lord Browne, the former BP chief executive, revealed how management had wanted to merge with Shell in 2004.

Browne said it seemed “so obviously right to me and the executive team” but their plans never went any further because several board members didn’t want to rock the boat.

Obviously a tie-up would be subject to much scrutiny from the competition authorities.

But when Shell last looked at a possible bid for BP, the consensus was that their respective operations would be complementary because there was actually little overlap. The same may be true today.

A straight takeover of BP is unthinkable so a deal would have to be badged as a merger. There might be considerable disquiet in the Netherlands at such an arrangement given that Shell, with a market cap of £180bn, is worth twice as much as BP currently.

But the re-domiciling of Shell’s headquarters from the Hague to London means such concerns would be far easier to dismiss than previously. Even the “Royal Dutch” aspect of its name has been ditched.

Environmentalists will be alarmed at what such a union would mean for BP and Shell’s climate commitments but perhaps that wouldn’t matter as much as feared.

There are literally thousands of specialist renewable companies with far greater green credentials than the dinosaurs of Big Oil and they’re not restricted by the same overwhelming conflicts of interest. Let Shell, BP, Exxon and the rest have one final hurrah.

Allow them to run down their operations and hand the spoils to investors. Shareholders will then be free to plough the additional capital into a new generation of genuine clean energy trailblazers to lead the charge."
Posted at 01/5/2023 13:19 by waldron
Total’s CEO Blames Stock Discount On European Listing

By Tsvetana Paraskova - May 01, 2023, 7:16 AM CDT

The primary listing on a stock market in Europe is the main reason for the discount at which TotalEnergies’ stock trades relative to the market value fundamentals of its U.S. competitors, TotalEnergies’ chief executive Patrick Pouyanné has said at meetings with investors in recent months.

However, TotalEnergies does not consider moving its primary listing to the United States, Pouyanné has said during recent meetings with investors, the Financial Times reports, citing sources familiar with the discussions.

“Culturally it was too difficult” to move TotalEnergies to the U.S., one of the largest shareholders in the French energy firm told FT.

CEO Pouyanné has said that “if Total was US-listed it would be much better but, of course, it is impossible for Total to move its listing so it’s not on the cards,” another shareholder told FT.

According to analysts, the U.S. supermajors, ExxonMobil and Chevron, are valued on the market at around six times their cash flows, while TotalEnergies is valued at around 4x the cash flow, with UK-based BP and Shell valued even lower, at around 3 times their cash flows.

Two years ago, Shell’s executive leadership discussed relocating to the U.S. in order to boost the company’s valuation, FT reported earlier this year.

According to the FT’s sources, the supermajor’s new chief executive, Wael Sawan, was part of a team of top executives that two years ago considered moving Shell’s headquarters to the U.S. and listing the company there, too.

The relocation idea was ultimately dropped, but the FT notes that Shell’s chief executive remains worried about the difference in valuation between Shell and its U.S. peers.

Indeed, there has been a stark difference in the valuations of European and U.S. Big Oil majors. According to analysts, there are two primary reasons for this: the first is the greater clout that ESG investing has in Europe, and the other is that neither ESG-focused nor traditional investors seem to be particularly convinced of European Big Oil’s transition plans.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
Posted at 27/4/2023 18:09 by adrian j boris
BP AGM: Chair Re-Elected, Climate Resolution Fails

Chairman Helge Lund held on to his post at the AGM, while a resolution to align BP to Paris targets was rejected. The meeting was interrupted by a number of protests

James Gard

27 April, 2023 | 5:18PM


5pm update: Resolution 4 was passed by 90% of shareholders, while Resolution 25 was rejected, achieving 16.75% of votes.

Investors in FTSE 100 oil company BP gathered for the company’s annual general meeting (AGM) today, an event held in person in London and online.There were two resolutions of key interest to shareholders. These come after the company recently scaled back its carbon transition targets, without putting the decision to investors. The AGM also comes after a period of record profits for oil majors.

The key resolutions are:

Resolution 4: to re-elect chairman Helge Lund

And:

Resolution 25: to align the company’s Scope 3 emissions reductions targets for 2030 with the Paris Climate Agreement (to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees above pre-industrial levels).
Why is Resolution 4 Controversial?

Five UK pension schemes are planning to vote against Lund’s re-election to register their views on the company’s ESG strategy. A vote against a chair is seen as an escalation to hold directors accountable over its plans (see below).


Who’s Voting Against Lund?

NEST, the UK’s largest pension scheme, plus the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), Brunel Pension Partnership, Boarder to Coast Pensions Partnership, and the Local Government Pension Scheme Central.

"If BP continues on this path we have serious concerns about them reaching their net zero goal and the long-term success of the company," NEST said.

"We want to see them investing more in low-carbon solutions and renewables, instead of new oil and gas sites."


What About Resolution 25?

This is separate from Resolution 4.

Dutch climate activist group Follow This, which crowdfunds share purchases to have a say at AGMs like these, has put forward the resolution.


Who’s Against it?

Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, which owns nearly 3% of BP shares, said it will vote against Resolution 25. Institutional shareholders ISS and Glass Lewis are also against it. “The proposal would represent a change in strategy from the one developed by the Board, which implies a potential constraint on the Board to develop and implement strategy," ISS said.


Who’s Backing Resolution 25?

The Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF) recommends that investors support the Follow This resolution.


What Are the Rules for Resolutions?

Resolution 4 needs over 50% in favour to push it through, whereas Resolution 25 needs more than 75%, a higher hurdle.


What’s the Morningstar View on Resolution 4?

Lindsey Stewart, Director of Investment Stewardship Research at Morningstar says:

"Many pension funds and asset managers have frequently indicated that they intend to hold specific directors accountable for companies' net-zero strategies this year — this is a good example. In investment stewardship, voting against a company chair is one of the strongest escalations a shareholder can implement. So, there's clearly very deep frustration on the part of the pension funds who intend to vote against Helge Lund's re-election as chair.

"We've seen the rise of 'say-on-climate' votes in the last couple of years at UK and European companies, at which shareholders approve companies' climate strategies and reporting. These votes aren't mandatory, but BP did choose to hold such a vote last year, as did several of its European energy sector peers including Shell, TotalEnergies, Equinor and Repsol. So now, many shareholders are dissatisfied with BP's actions to adopt less ambitious net-zero goals without offering shareholders the opportunity to vote again on the topic."


What Does BP Say?

It’s urging shareholders to vote in favour of all resolutions (1-24), but to reject number 25. "We do not consider it to be in the best interest of the company and its shareholders because it is unclear, it encroaches on the board’s accountability to set the company strategy, and it is simplistic and disruptive," the company said in the note to investors ahead of the AGM.

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