Wells Fargo & Company Cuts ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Price Target to $132.00

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

COP has been the topic of a number of other reports. Mizuho raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $132.00 to $134.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Barclays raised their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Truist Financial raised their price target on ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $136.65.

ConocoPhillips Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of COP opened at $105.62 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $121.56 billion, a PE ratio of 12.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.19. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $94.23 and a 12-month high of $135.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The business’s 50 day moving average is $104.05 and its 200 day moving average is $107.54.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $13.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.97 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 19.53%. The business’s revenue was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.16 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This is a positive change from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other ConocoPhillips news, Director Arjun N. Murti purchased 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The stock was acquired 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 in the company, valued at $2,061,205. The trade was a 13.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director R A. Walker acquired 10,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $97.80 per share, with a total value of $1,017,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 38,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,716,400. The trade was a 37.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ConocoPhillips

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in COP. Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its position in ConocoPhillips by 95.6% in the second quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 313 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. 82.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.