ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Price Target Raised to $129.00

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) had its target price upped by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $123.00 to $129.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the energy producer’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target points to a potential upside of 1.02% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised their target price on ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Susquehanna cut their target price on ConocoPhillips from $152.00 to $133.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Raymond James cut their price target on ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $137.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Johnson Rice lowered ConocoPhillips from an “accumulate” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 14th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $135.35.

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 0.7 %

ConocoPhillips stock traded up $0.86 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $127.70. 2,166,336 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,733,041. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $113.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $116.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market cap of $150.23 billion, a PE ratio of 14.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.23. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $95.70 and a 12-month high of $128.64.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The energy producer reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $15.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.47 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 22.08% and a net margin of 18.71%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.71 EPS. Research analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 8.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

In related news, CFO William L. Jr. Bullock sold 45,200 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.32, for a total value of $5,574,064.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 44,153 shares in the company, valued at $5,444,947.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other ConocoPhillips news, CFO William L. Jr. Bullock sold 45,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.32, for a total transaction of $5,574,064.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 44,153 shares in the company, valued at $5,444,947.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 607,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.91, for a total value of $76,427,370.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 6,780 shares in the company, valued at $853,669.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 700,775 shares of company stock worth $87,615,169 over the last three months. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ConocoPhillips

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. West Tower Group LLC acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. West Branch Capital LLC raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 87.8% in the 4th quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 231 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Sachetta LLC acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Cooksen Wealth LLC acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.