ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Now Covered by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage issued an overweight rating and a $128.00 price objective on the energy producer’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on COP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $120.00 to $123.00 in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $131.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on ConocoPhillips from $145.00 to $138.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Mizuho raised ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $132.00 to $134.00 in a research report on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $139.24.

ConocoPhillips Trading Down 2.5 %

ConocoPhillips stock opened at $95.85 on Monday. ConocoPhillips has a 1 year low of $95.75 and a 1 year high of $135.18. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $106.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $109.31. The firm has a market cap of $110.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.18. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $13.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.16 earnings per share. ConocoPhillips’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 7.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. 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 yield of 3.26%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other ConocoPhillips news, Director R A. Walker bought 10,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $97.80 per share, with a total value of $1,017,120.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 38,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,716,400. This represents a 37.68 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ConocoPhillips

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of COP. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its position in ConocoPhillips by 12.9% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 408,910 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $46,771,000 after purchasing an additional 46,790 shares during the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 50.8% in the second quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,731 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $668,000 after buying an additional 1,930 shares during the period. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the second quarter worth about $46,000. Focus Financial Network Inc. increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 8.3% during the second quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 8,455 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $981,000 after acquiring an additional 645 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Global Investments raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 42.6% in the 2nd quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 4,183 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $478,000 after acquiring an additional 1,249 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.