ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Raises Dividend to $0.78 Per Share

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, October 31st, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a dividend of 0.78 per share by the energy producer on Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This is a boost from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58.

ConocoPhillips has raised its dividend payment by an average of 7.7% annually over the last three years. ConocoPhillips has a payout ratio of 38.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect ConocoPhillips to earn $8.63 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.12 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 36.2%.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

ConocoPhillips stock opened at $109.22 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $125.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.99, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $107.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $112.52. ConocoPhillips has a 52 week low of $101.29 and a 52 week high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.16 earnings per share. ConocoPhillips’s revenue was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 7.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Timothy A. Leach sold 55,500 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.11, for a total transaction of $6,000,105.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 455,909 shares in the company, valued at $49,288,321.99. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on COP. Mizuho upped their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $145.00 to $138.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com lowered ConocoPhillips from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $126.00 price objective (down previously from $139.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.47.

About ConocoPhillips

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.