ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Price Target Increased to $149.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) had its price target increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $141.00 to $149.00 in a research note published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the energy producer’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Wednesday. They set an overweight rating and a $158.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Johnson Rice lowered shares of ConocoPhillips from an accumulate rating to a hold rating in a report on Thursday, December 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $139.00 to $133.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $139.71.

ConocoPhillips Stock Up 0.4 %

COP opened at $132.82 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $117.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $116.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.43. ConocoPhillips has a twelve month low of $95.70 and a twelve month high of $134.02. The firm has a market cap of $156.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.66, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.24.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The energy producer reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.32. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 18.71% and a return on equity of 22.08%. The business had revenue of $15.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.71 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 9.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 19th were issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. This is an increase from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ConocoPhillips news, VP Christopher P. Delk sold 8,505 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.06, for a total transaction of $953,070.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, VP Christopher P. Delk sold 8,505 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.06, for a total value of $953,070.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Heather G. Hrap sold 4,548 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.55, for a total transaction of $502,781.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,654 shares in the company, valued at $293,399.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 700,775 shares of company stock worth $87,615,169. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of ConocoPhillips

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital Investment Counsel Inc bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the third quarter valued at $228,000. Columbia Trust Co 01012016 grew its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Columbia Trust Co 01012016 now owns 9,463 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,098,000 after buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,563,044 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $181,422,000 after buying an additional 23,572 shares in the last quarter. Syon Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the third quarter valued at $2,262,000. Finally, PFG Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the third quarter valued at $233,000. 82.36% of the stock is currently 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.