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

Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) have received a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the eighteen analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fifteen have assigned a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $136.71.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $131.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Barclays lifted their target price on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $120.00 to $123.00 in a report on Thursday, December 5th.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Montag A & Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2.5% during the second quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 3,900 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $446,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Excalibur Management Corp boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2.4% in the second quarter. Excalibur Management Corp now owns 4,037 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $462,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Cypress Capital Group grew its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 0.5% during the third quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 18,790 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,978,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Bank OZK boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 1.6% during the second quarter. Bank OZK now owns 6,251 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $715,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aprio Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 4.8% during the third quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,125 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $224,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

COP stock opened at $96.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.16. ConocoPhillips has a 1 year low of $94.23 and a 1 year high of $135.18. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $105.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $108.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.51 billion, a PE ratio of 11.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $13.60 billion for 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%. ConocoPhillips’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 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 7.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The business 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 is a positive change from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.10%.

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.