BP price target raised to $44 from $43 at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler raised the firm’s price target on BP (BP) to $44 from $43 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. While BP’s reported Q4 result was largely in-line with expectations, the story of the day was the decision to suspend the share buyback, the firm says. The decision prioritizes the balance sheet, and together with improved execution and capex/cost reduction, positions BP for future shareholder returns, but also strength/flexibility to prosecute its resource queue. While Piper agrees with the decision, the unchanged 2027 net debt target begged the questions of risk to the original plan, and what is the current investment case for BP, with neither competitive distributions nor growth.