ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Given Average Rating of “Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) have been given an average rating of “Buy” by the eighteen ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $136.65.

COP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $120.00 to $123.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Mizuho upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $132.00 to $134.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $134.00 to $132.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st.

ConocoPhillips Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE COP opened at $105.45 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $94.23 and a 12-month high of $135.18. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $104.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $107.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.19.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $13.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.97 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 17.29%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.16 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 7.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This is a positive change from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.96%. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is 37.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ConocoPhillips news, Director R A. Walker purchased 10,400 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $97.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,017,120.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 38,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,716,400. This trade represents a 37.68 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arjun N. Murti acquired 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $95.87 per share, for a total transaction of $239,675.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 21,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,061,205. This represents a 13.16 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in ConocoPhillips by 42.7% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 103,553 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $10,902,000 after purchasing an additional 31,011 shares in the last quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 83.8% during the second quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 16,427 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,879,000 after buying an additional 7,490 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 23.6% during the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 71,097 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $7,488,000 after buying an additional 13,595 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,489,514 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $262,094,000 after buying an additional 46,621 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 5,422.3% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,587,729 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $482,996,000 after buying an additional 4,504,653 shares during the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ConocoPhillips Company Profile

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.