Brokerages Set ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Price Target at $140.59

Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $142.00.

COP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $158.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $137.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on ConocoPhillips from $145.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th.

ConocoPhillips Stock Down 0.4 %

COP stock opened at $127.81 on Tuesday. ConocoPhillips has a twelve month low of $95.70 and a twelve month high of $135.18. The stock has a market cap of $150.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.11, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.24. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $120.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $117.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The energy producer reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $15.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.47 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 18.71% and a return on equity of 22.08%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.71 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 9.35 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 19th were issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.44%. This is an increase from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Heather G. Hrap sold 4,548 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.55, for a total value of $502,781.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,654 shares in the company, valued at $293,399.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, SVP Heather G. Hrap sold 4,548 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.55, for a total value of $502,781.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $293,399.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Dominic E. Macklon sold 23,372 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.17, for a total transaction of $2,621,637.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 700,775 shares of company stock valued at $87,615,169 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 98,832.5% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,584,373 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,012,956,000 after buying an additional 8,575,696 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 24.9% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 23,712,617 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $2,752,325,000 after purchasing an additional 4,726,952 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 26.6% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 16,647,723 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,964,432,000 after purchasing an additional 3,497,750 shares during the period. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 512.8% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 3,737,026 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $433,757,000 after purchasing an additional 3,127,165 shares during the period. Finally, Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in ConocoPhillips during the third quarter valued at approximately $310,102,000. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

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.