ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Hits New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) reached a new 52-week high on Monday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $108.00 to $149.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. ConocoPhillips traded as high as $134.90 and last traded at $135.0390, with a volume of 62139 shares. The stock had previously closed at $133.80.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on COP. Wall Street Zen upgraded ConocoPhillips from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $130.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. They set a “hold” rating and a $124.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.16.

Insider Activity

In other ConocoPhillips news, SVP Kelly Brunetti Rose sold 7,700 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.03, for a total transaction of $1,001,231.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 25,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,287,678.52. The trade was a 23.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nicholas G. Olds sold 6,994 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.06, for a total transaction of $888,657.64. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $685,488.70. This trade represents a 56.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 621,670 shares of company stock valued at $78,320,133 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of ConocoPhillips

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of COP. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management purchased a new position in ConocoPhillips during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips during the third quarter worth $26,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Stock Up 0.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.30. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $112.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $99.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $165.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.27.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The energy producer reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by ($0.21). ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 11.90%. The firm had revenue of $13.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.98 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 18th were given a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 18th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.00%.

ConocoPhillips Company Profile

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is a Houston-based international energy company focused on exploration and production of oil and natural gas. Formed in 2002 through the merger of Conoco Inc and Phillips Petroleum Company, the firm operates as an independent upstream company that explores for, develops and produces crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids across a portfolio of global assets.

The company’s activities span conventional and unconventional resources and include onshore and offshore operations in multiple regions around the world.