Royal Bank of Canada Reaffirms “Outperform” Rating for ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Royal Bank of Canada reiterated their outperform rating on shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) in a research report sent to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $140.00 price objective on the energy producer’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $147.00 to $132.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Bank of America restated a buy rating and set a $147.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, June 14th. Wolfe Research began coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an outperform rating and a $145.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $151.00 to $150.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $143.24.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of ConocoPhillips stock opened at $103.50 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.05 billion, a PE ratio of 11.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. ConocoPhillips has a 12 month low of $101.29 and a 12 month high of $135.18. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $110.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $116.73.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The energy producer reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $14.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.96 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 18.18% and a return on equity of 20.81%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.84 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 8.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Timothy A. Leach sold 55,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.11, for a total transaction of $6,000,105.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 455,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,288,321.99. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ConocoPhillips

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gilbert & Cook Inc. raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 13,438 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,560,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,571 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $414,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,919 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $339,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. First Heartland Consultants Inc. boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. First Heartland Consultants Inc. now owns 2,354 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. 82.36% of the stock is 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.