ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Receives $143.24 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $142.29.

Several research firms have commented on COP. StockNews.com downgraded ConocoPhillips from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $132.00 to $129.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $120.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $147.00 to $132.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $159.00 price target (up previously from $155.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Thursday, May 30th.

ConocoPhillips Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of ConocoPhillips stock opened at $110.51 on Friday. ConocoPhillips has a 1 year low of $101.29 and a 1 year high of $135.18. The firm has a market cap of $129.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.52, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a 50-day moving average of $109.82 and a 200 day moving average of $116.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.19.

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

ConocoPhillips Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COP. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 35.8% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 32,192,580 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $4,097,473,000 after purchasing an additional 8,479,963 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 9.6% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 21,252,822 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $2,705,059,000 after purchasing an additional 1,856,085 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in ConocoPhillips by 5.8% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 14,986,970 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,907,542,000 after buying an additional 826,529 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 4.6% in 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 buying an additional 438,241 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 7,412,753 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $860,398,000 after buying an additional 191,519 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by 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.