ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Coverage Initiated at TD Cowen

TD Cowen began coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $125.00 price objective on the energy producer’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on COP. Mizuho upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $132.00 to $134.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Susquehanna increased their price target on ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $136.00.

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of ConocoPhillips stock opened at $105.76 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.72 billion, a PE ratio of 12.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.19. ConocoPhillips has a 52 week low of $94.23 and a 52 week high of $135.18. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $103.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $107.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.30.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 19.53%. The business had revenue of $13.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.16 EPS. ConocoPhillips’s revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This is a boost from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director R A. Walker bought 10,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $97.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,017,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 38,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,716,400. The trade was a 37.68 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arjun N. Murti purchased 2,500 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $95.87 per share, with a total value of $239,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 21,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,061,205. This represents a 13.16 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COP. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 42.7% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 103,553 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $10,902,000 after acquiring an additional 31,011 shares during the period. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 83.8% in the 2nd quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 16,427 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,879,000 after purchasing an additional 7,490 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 8,855 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $878,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 23.6% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 71,097 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $7,488,000 after purchasing an additional 13,595 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 1.9% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,489,514 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $262,094,000 after purchasing an additional 46,621 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.