ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Receives Consensus Rating of “Buy” from Analysts

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) has been given a consensus rating of “Buy” by the nineteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $136.00.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on COP shares. Mizuho raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $132.00 to $134.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $134.00 to $132.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Scotiabank cut their target price 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. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, January 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

NYSE:COP opened at $103.02 on Thursday. 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 company has a market cap of $118.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.19. ConocoPhillips has a fifty-two week low of $94.23 and a fifty-two week high of $135.18. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $103.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $107.25.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $13.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.97 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 19.53%. ConocoPhillips’s revenue was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.16 earnings per share. Analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 7.68 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This is a boost from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.03%. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is 37.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, Director R A. Walker bought 10,400 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $97.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,017,120.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 38,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,716,400. The trade was a 37.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Arjun N. Murti acquired 2,500 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $95.87 per share, with a total value of $239,675.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 21,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,061,205. The trade was 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 Trading of ConocoPhillips

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,914 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $487,000 after buying an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. Kennedy Investment Group lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 167.0% in the fourth quarter. Kennedy Investment Group now owns 14,964 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,484,000 after buying an additional 9,359 shares during the last quarter. BSW Wealth Partners acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips during the 4th quarter valued at $238,000. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 24.2% during the 4th quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 20,063 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,990,000 after purchasing an additional 3,905 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stonegate Investment Group LLC raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 53,326 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $5,288,000 after purchasing an additional 949 shares during the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.