BP price target raised to 636 pence as refining margins strengthen
Oil futures gave back some of the previous session’s gains on Friday after President Trump said the U.S. is not planning to strike Iran before the November 3 midterm elections, according to a Wall Street Journal energy and utilities roundup published the same day.
In a note cited by the roundup, Ritterbusch & Associates said Trump’s comment “has placed the crude markets back on the defensive amid what is likely to be a lull in attacks through the Strait of Hormuz.” West Texas Intermediate traded 0.8% lower at $90.78 a barrel, and Brent was down 1.1% at $103.19 a barrel.
Hurricane Isaias prompted U.S. Gulf producers to evacuate platforms and shut in production, although the storm track lay east of most U.S. Gulf coast refineries. Isaias became a Category 3 hurricane Friday morning and was expected to make landfall late Friday or early Saturday, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The same WSJ roundup carried two further analyst notes. In a 0301 ET item, Baader Helvea’s Frederic Lorec wrote that BP’s deleveraging efforts are ahead of plan as he upgraded the stock’s price target to 636 pence from 549 pence. He raised his adjusted earnings-per-share forecast to $1.17 in 2026 and $0.81 in 2027, from $0.69 and $0.59, citing higher Brent prices and strong refining margins.
In a 2317 ET item, Affin Hwang IB analyst Ong Tze Hern wrote that Malaysia’s offshore support vessel activity is expected to improve from 2027 onward. The Malaysia Offshore Support Vessel Owners’ Association expects stronger demand as upstream activity expands in Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah, he said. Vessel utilization is likely to recover before charter rates, while increased decommissioning work could provide further support, he added. The pace of recovery will depend on Petronas’ spending plans and approved budgets, Ong wrote. Affin Hwang maintained a neutral rating on Malaysia’s oil and gas sector and identified Dialog and Bumi Armada as top buys.