ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Hits New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday after Scotiabank raised their price target on the stock from $120.00 to $135.00. Scotiabank currently has a sector perform rating on the stock. ConocoPhillips traded as high as $135.18 and last traded at $134.49, with a volume of 416743 shares. The stock had previously closed at $132.92.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on COP. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $173.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $137.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $139.00 price objective (up previously from $132.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Johnson Rice cut shares of ConocoPhillips from an “accumulate” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 14th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.59.

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

In related 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 transaction of $953,070.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other ConocoPhillips news, EVP Dominic E. Macklon sold 23,372 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.17, for a total transaction of $2,621,637.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher P. Delk sold 8,505 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.06, for a total transaction of $953,070.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 700,775 shares of company stock valued at $87,615,169. 0.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Parkside Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Parkside Investments LLC now owns 105,028 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $13,368,000 after purchasing an additional 2,385 shares during the period. Community Bank of Raymore lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Community Bank of Raymore now owns 26,019 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,312,000 after purchasing an additional 860 shares during the period. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 22,157 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $2,820,000 after purchasing an additional 628 shares during the period. Northwest Quadrant Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 1st quarter worth approximately $219,000. Finally, Annex Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 61,889 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $7,877,000 after purchasing an additional 2,075 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Stock Down 1.3 %

The stock has a market cap of $154.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.24. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average price is $118.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $116.85.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The energy producer reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.32. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 18.71% and a return on equity of 22.08%. The firm had revenue of $15.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.71 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 9.21 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 19th were given a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This is an increase from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is presently 25.61%.

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.