ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Cut to “Outperform” at Raymond James

Raymond James cut shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) from a strong-buy rating to an outperform rating in a report released on Monday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $124.00 price objective on the energy producer’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $157.00.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays boosted their target price on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on ConocoPhillips in a report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 price target on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, January 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.56.

ConocoPhillips Stock Down 3.2 %

NYSE:COP opened at $98.42 on Monday. ConocoPhillips has a 1 year low of $94.23 and a 1 year high of $135.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market cap of $113.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.63, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $100.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $105.97.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 17.26% and a net margin of 16.23%. As a group, equities analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th will be paid a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.17%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 121,826,062 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $12,081,491,000 after acquiring an additional 12,751,120 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 19.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 66,928,793 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $7,046,263,000 after acquiring an additional 10,663,093 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 20.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,161,897 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $3,280,725,000 after acquiring an additional 5,240,016 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 28,131,288 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $2,792,521,000 after acquiring an additional 3,397,360 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 14,420,058 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,430,034,000 after acquiring an additional 862,707 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

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.