ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Given New $132.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) had its target price decreased by Wells Fargo & Company from $134.00 to $132.00 in a research note published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the energy producer’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $153.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Susquehanna upped their target price on ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 price target for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $136.65.

ConocoPhillips Stock Up 0.6 %

COP opened at $104.83 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $104.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.56. ConocoPhillips has a 12 month low of $94.23 and a 12 month high of $135.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $120.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.16.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.16 earnings per share. ConocoPhillips’s quarterly revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 7.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This is an increase from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.98%. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is 37.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ConocoPhillips

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 19.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 66,928,793 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $7,046,263,000 after purchasing an additional 10,663,093 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 20.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,161,897 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,280,725,000 after buying an additional 5,240,016 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,733,928 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $2,601,639,000 after acquiring an additional 924,289 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,557,351 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,469,163,000 after purchasing an additional 1,506,599 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 59.7% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,456,011 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,311,369,000 after acquiring an additional 4,656,040 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

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.