ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) have earned an average rating of “Buy” from the eighteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fifteen have assigned a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $136.65.

Several brokerages have commented on COP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $120.00 to $123.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Piper Sandler lowered 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. Mizuho raised ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $132.00 to $134.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, December 6th.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, Director Arjun N. Murti bought 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The shares were bought at an average price of $95.87 per share, with a total value of $239,675.00. Following the purchase, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director R A. Walker acquired 10,400 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $97.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,017,120.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 38,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of ConocoPhillips

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of COP. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 19.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 66,928,793 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $7,046,263,000 after buying an additional 10,663,093 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 20.2% in 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 acquiring an additional 5,240,016 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 3.9% in the 3rd 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. raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,506,599 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 59.7% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of COP opened at $105.45 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $104.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $107.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.36 billion, a PE ratio of 12.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.19. ConocoPhillips has a one year low of $94.23 and a one year high of $135.18.

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 analysts’ expectations of $13.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.16 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 7.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. This is an increase from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is currently 37.10%.

ConocoPhillips Company Profile

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.