ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Upgraded at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) to a hold rating in a report published on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on COP. Barclays cut their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Melius initiated coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $117.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on ConocoPhillips from $111.00 to $108.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $114.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Capital One Financial upped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $111.00 to $112.00 in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $115.00.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

NYSE COP opened at $86.53 on Thursday. ConocoPhillips has a twelve month low of $79.88 and a twelve month high of $115.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $108.07 billion, a PE ratio of 11.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $91.93.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The energy producer reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.06. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 14.60% and a net margin of 15.26%.The business had revenue of $14.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.98 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th were issued a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.88%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ConocoPhillips

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of COP. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 14.6% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 269,154 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $28,267,000 after buying an additional 34,284 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 59.7% in the 1st quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 5,587 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $587,000 after buying an additional 2,089 shares in the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 28.3% in the 1st quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 2,676 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $274,000 after buying an additional 591 shares in the last quarter. Advisor Resource Council acquired a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,131,000. Finally, Evanson Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 10.6% in the 1st quarter. Evanson Asset Management LLC now owns 2,668 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $280,000 after buying an additional 255 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.