ConocoPhillips (COP) – What Are Investment Firms Saying About This Stock?

Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-eight analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have issued a hold recommendation, seventeen have assigned a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $145.08.

COP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $157.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $150.00 to $146.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Monday.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, SVP Andrew Lundquist sold 9,487 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.15, for a total transaction of $1,282,168.05. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 9,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,296,493.95. This represents a 49.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ConocoPhillips

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its position in ConocoPhillips by 73.2% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 118,591,447 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $12,328,767,000 after purchasing an additional 50,116,727 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.0% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 93,886,457 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $9,760,436,000 after buying an additional 2,712,703 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 12.0% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,072,154 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,566,901,000 after acquiring an additional 1,609,759 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 0.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,044,489 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,457,978,000 after acquiring an additional 74,261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 10.8% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 10,181,950 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,344,017,000 after acquiring an additional 995,392 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Trading Down 1.6%

NYSE:COP opened at $144.46 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $173.54 billion, a PE ratio of 19.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.16. The business’s 50 day moving average is $136.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $121.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. ConocoPhillips has a 52 week low of $85.57 and a 52 week high of $154.28.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The energy producer reported $3.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.34. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 14.72% and a net margin of 14.22%. The business had revenue of $19.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.42 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 32.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 11.41 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th were paid a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is presently 44.44%.

ConocoPhillips Company Profile

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) is an independent exploration and production company engaged in finding, developing and producing oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Unlike integrated energy companies, it primarily focuses on upstream activities rather than operating large refining or retail fuel businesses.

The company’s portfolio includes conventional and unconventional oil and natural gas assets, liquefied natural gas-related interests, oil sands operations and other energy resources.