ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Shares Down 4.7% – Should You Sell?

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) fell 4.7% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $106.32 and last traded at $106.55. 5,779,918 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 2% from the average session volume of 5,903,721 shares. The stock had previously closed at $111.75.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on COP. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $126.00 price objective (down from $139.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, October 11th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.63.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average is $108.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $111.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a market cap of $122.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.21.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $13.60 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.16 EPS. Equities analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 7.78 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. 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 2.94%. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is presently 37.10%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ConocoPhillips

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp raised 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 valued at $7,046,263,000 after purchasing an additional 10,663,093 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew 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 valued at $3,280,725,000 after buying an additional 5,240,016 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,733,928 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $2,601,639,000 after acquiring an additional 924,289 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in 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 period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 4.6% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 9,900,596 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,132,430,000 after acquiring an additional 438,241 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.