UBS Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Stock Price

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) had its price objective decreased by UBS Group from $116.00 to $111.00 in a report issued on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the energy producer’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $137.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on ConocoPhillips from $131.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $131.00 to $116.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $127.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $128.32.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

COP opened at $88.96 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $112.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.42, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $95.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $101.58. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $79.88 and a 12-month high of $130.77.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 16.23% and a return on equity of 17.26%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is currently 40.05%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 11.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 121,826,062 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $12,081,491,000 after purchasing an additional 12,751,120 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 13.8% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 45,847,572 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $4,546,706,000 after purchasing an additional 5,549,078 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 31,287,113 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $3,101,989,000 after purchasing an additional 1,473,027 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 28,131,288 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $2,792,521,000 after purchasing an additional 3,397,360 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 37.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 15,570,246 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,544,101,000 after purchasing an additional 4,211,939 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.