ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) have received a consensus rating of “Buy” from the nineteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $136.00.

COP has been the subject of a number of research reports. Mizuho raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $132.00 to $134.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on ConocoPhillips in a report on Monday, December 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 target price for the company. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday. They set a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of COP stock opened at $105.76 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.58, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.19. ConocoPhillips has a one year low of $94.23 and a one year high of $135.18. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $103.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $107.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.30.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.10. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 17.29%. The company had revenue of $13.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.16 EPS. ConocoPhillips’s quarterly revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a $0.78 dividend. This is a positive change from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.10%.

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

In other news, Director Arjun N. Murti acquired 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $95.87 per share, for a total transaction of $239,675.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 21,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,061,205. This represents a 13.16 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director R A. Walker bought 10,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $97.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,017,120.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 38,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,716,400. This trade represents a 37.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of ConocoPhillips

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 19.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 66,928,793 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $7,046,263,000 after purchasing an additional 10,663,093 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 20.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,161,897 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $3,280,725,000 after buying an additional 5,240,016 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 59.7% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,456,011 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,311,369,000 after buying an additional 4,656,040 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 5,422.3% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,587,729 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $482,996,000 after acquiring an additional 4,504,653 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 401.5% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,423,611 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $438,690,000 after acquiring an additional 3,541,504 shares during the period. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ConocoPhillips Company Profile

ConocoPhillips explores for, produces, transports, and markets crude oil, bitumen, natural gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and natural gas liquids in the United States, Canada, China, Libya, Malaysia, Norway, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company's portfolio includes unconventional plays in North America; conventional assets in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia; global LNG developments; oil sands assets in Canada; and an inventory of global exploration prospects.