BP Just Got a Wall Street Double Upgrade: Argus, RBC Both Turn Bullish on Recovery Story

"Argus moved BP stock to Buy from Hold, citing BP’s Q1 2026 earnings beat, increased upstream production, materially higher realized refining margins, and strong oil trading contributions. The firm flagged lower price realizations as a partial offset, yet viewed operational momentum as decisive."

"RBC Capital lifted the stock to Outperform from Sector Perform with a 700 GBp price target. The firm sees the current commodity price environment as another chance for BP to deleverage, pointing to recent exploration success and new management as catalysts that bring an “opportunity to restore investor confidence.”"

"BP is a London-based integrated oil and gas major operating bp, Castrol, Amoco, Aral, ampm, and bpx Energy. Q1 2026 EPS came in at $1.24 versus $0.5321 estimated, a 133% surprise, on revenue of $52.26 billion. CEO Meg O'Neill is targeting $20 billion in divestments by 2027 and plans to retire $4.3 billion in hybrid bonds, while reiterating FY2026 capex of $13 to $13.5 billion."

"BP stock has trailed U.S. peers for years, a gap our recent coverage of BP's turnaround push has tracked closely. Year to date, BP shares are up 27%, ahead of Chevron at 21%, Exxon Mobil at 23%, and Shell at 16%. The five-year picture still shows BP at 70% versus Exxon's 144%, leaving room to close the gap."

Argus upgraded BP stock to Buy from Hold, citing a Q1 2026 earnings beat, increased upstream production, higher realized refining margins, and strong oil trading contributions, while noting lower price realizations as a partial offset. RBC Capital upgraded BP to Outperform from Sector Perform with a 700 GBp price target, emphasizing structural deleveraging opportunities in the current commodity environment. RBC pointed to exploration success and new management as catalysts to restore investor confidence. BP reported Q1 2026 EPS of $1.24 versus $0.5321 estimated on revenue of $52.26 billion. CEO Meg O'Neill targets $20 billion in divestments by 2027, plans to retire $4.3 billion in hybrid bonds, and reiterated FY2026 capex of $13 to $13.5 billion. BP shares are up 27% year to date, and the stock remains behind some U.S. peers over five years.

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