BP p.l.c. (NYSE: BP)
BP p.l.c. (BP), an integrated oil and gas company yesterday announced that fourth quarter earnings fell 91% due to a sharp decline in oil and gas prices. BP reported underlying replacement cost profit of $196 million for the quarter which is down from $2.2 billion of the same quarter the previous year, and fell short of analyst expectations of $730 million.
BP p.l.c. CEO’s Comments
“We are continuing to move rapidly to adapt and rebalance BP for the changing environment,” CEO Bob Dudley said in a statement. “We’re making good progress in managing and lowering our costs and capital spending, while maintaining safe and reliable operations.” ABC News
BP Technical Analysis
BP gapped down in price yesterday to $29.02, down from the prior day’s close of $31.70, which is a 8% decrease in price. Taking a look at the daily chart we can see that the last time BP traded below this price level was on January 20th when it traded at $28.46. Taking a closer look at the daily chart we can see that BP has been on an overall decline dating back to November 3rd when it traded at $37.23. BP has a float of 2.95 billion shares and is trading over 2.5 times the normal daily trading volume. For trading purposes, my entry point short would have been $29.00 looking for a run down to $28. My stop loss would have been $29.20, fearing anything above that and the stock would start to fill in the gap down.
Company Profile
BP p.l.c. operates as an integrated oil and gas company worldwide. It operates in three segments: Upstream, Downstream, and Rosneft. The Upstream segment engages in the oil and natural gas exploration, field development, and production; midstream transportation, and storage and processing; and marketing and trade of natural gas, including liquefied natural gas (LNG), and power and natural gas liquids (NGL). It also owns and manages crude oil and natural gas pipelines; processing facilities and export terminals; and LNG processing facilities and transportation, as well as NGL extraction business. The Downstream segment refines, manufactures, markets, transports, supplies, and trades in crude oil, petroleum, and petrochemicals products and related services to wholesale and retail customers. It offers lubricants and related products under the Castrol, BP, and Aral brands to the automotive, industrial, marine, and energy markets; and petrochemicals products, such as purified terephthalic acid, paraxylene, acetic acid, olefins and derivatives, and specialty petrochemicals products. This segment also sells gasoline, diesel, and aviation fuel. The Rosneft segment engages in the exploration and production of hydrocarbons in the United States, Canada, Vietnam, Venezuela, Brazil, Algeria, the United Arab Emirates, Turkmenistan, and Norway; and offers jet fuel, bunkering, bitumen, and lubricants. This segment also owns and operates 10 refineries in Russia; and has an interest in 4 refineries in Germany. As of December 31, 2014, this segment owned and operated approximately 2,500 retail service stations in Russia. The company also produces bioethanol, sugar, and biobutanol; exports power to the local grid; transports hydrocarbon products through shipping and chartering services; and holds interests in 16 operating wind farms with a generation capacity of 2,585 megawatts. BP p.l.c. was founded in 1889 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom. Yahoo Finance
