Analysts Set ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Target Price at $136.65

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the nineteen research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, sixteen have given a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $136.00.

COP has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $134.00 to $132.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $120.00 to $123.00 in a report on Thursday, December 5th.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of COP stock opened at $103.02 on Thursday. ConocoPhillips has a 12 month low of $94.23 and a 12 month high of $135.18. The company has a market cap of $118.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.25, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $103.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.25.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.10. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 19.53%. The firm had revenue of $13.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.16 earnings per share. ConocoPhillips’s quarterly revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 7.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The business 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. This is a positive change from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Arjun N. Murti bought 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $95.87 per share, for a total transaction 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 acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director R A. Walker purchased 10,400 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 38,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,716,400. The trade was a 37.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of ConocoPhillips

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of COP. One Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 20.6% in the second quarter. One Capital Management LLC now owns 2,526 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 444.8% during the second quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 13,484 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,542,000 after buying an additional 11,009 shares during the period. Plancorp LLC lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 7.2% during the second quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 4,339 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $496,000 after buying an additional 291 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 7.7% during the second quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 179,914 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $20,579,000 after buying an additional 12,798 shares during the period. Finally, Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 0.6% during the second quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 611,035 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $69,890,000 after buying an additional 3,944 shares during the period. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.