ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Price Target Raised to $135.00

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) had its price target upped by Scotiabank from $120.00 to $135.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. Scotiabank currently has a sector perform rating on the energy producer’s stock.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on COP. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on ConocoPhillips from $141.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on ConocoPhillips from $139.00 to $133.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Mizuho reissued a neutral rating and set a $139.00 price objective (up previously from $132.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Johnson Rice cut shares of ConocoPhillips from an accumulate rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, December 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $140.59.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of COP stock opened at $131.20 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $154.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.48, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.24. ConocoPhillips has a 12 month low of $95.70 and a 12 month high of $135.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $118.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $116.85.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The energy producer reported $2.40 EPS 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 company had revenue of $15.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.71 EPS. Research analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 9.21 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders 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 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 25.61%.

Insider Activity

In other ConocoPhillips news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 607,000 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.91, for a total transaction of $76,427,370.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $853,669.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other ConocoPhillips news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 607,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.91, for a total transaction of $76,427,370.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,780 shares in the company, valued at $853,669.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO William L. Jr. Bullock sold 45,200 shares of the business’s 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 owns 44,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,444,947.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 700,775 shares of company stock valued at $87,615,169 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 27,672,104 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,211,901,000 after purchasing an additional 108,956 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 24.9% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 23,712,617 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $2,752,325,000 after buying an additional 4,726,952 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 26.6% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 16,647,723 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,964,432,000 after buying an additional 3,497,750 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in ConocoPhillips by 3.2% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 12,486,871 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,495,927,000 after buying an additional 386,276 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,028,061 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,440,962,000 after acquiring an additional 1,152,907 shares in the last quarter. 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.