ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Price Target Raised to $154.00

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) had its price target hoisted by Piper Sandler from $111.00 to $154.00 in a research note published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the energy producer’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on COP. Wall Street Zen raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Citigroup raised their price target on ConocoPhillips from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Capital One Financial lifted their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $111.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $117.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Johnson Rice cut ConocoPhillips from an “accumulate” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $108.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Friday, December 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $119.33.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE COP opened at $122.00 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $106.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $96.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market cap of $150.76 billion, a PE ratio of 19.24, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.27. ConocoPhillips has a 52-week low of $79.88 and a 52-week high of $122.50.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The energy producer reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by ($0.21). The company had revenue of $13.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.35 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 11.90% and a net margin of 12.98%.The business’s revenue was down 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.98 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 18th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.00%.

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 500,708 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.50, for a total transaction of $46,315,490.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 325,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,152,410. This trade represents a 60.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy A. Leach sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.79, for a total value of $4,751,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 411,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,847,754.69. This trade represents a 8.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 549,208 shares of company stock worth $52,070,430. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COP. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,352 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $989,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC now owns 2,370 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $222,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its stake in ConocoPhillips by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 2,570 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $241,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 8,018 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $751,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chesapeake Wealth Management increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 7,160 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $670,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ConocoPhillips News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting ConocoPhillips this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Higher crude and geopolitical risk are drawing investor attention to major producers, lifting the sector and COP in particular. Oil Price Back to the Glory Days
• Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler raised its price target on COP to $154 and set an “overweight” rating, implying significant upside from current levels — a formal analyst endorsement that can support buyer interest. Piper Sandler PT Raise
• Positive Sentiment: TheStreet highlights that while oil-price swings move the stock, the bigger long-term catalyst may be ConocoPhillips’ internal execution — cash returns, portfolio optimization and disciplined capex — which investors view as durable value drivers. Oil’s whiplash is powering ConocoPhillips
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader commentary notes a sector rotation into energy as crude recovers; this macro interest helps COP but increases reliance on commodity moves rather than idiosyncratic stock drivers. Energy is no longer dead money
• Negative Sentiment: An insider sale — a ConocoPhillips director sold roughly $4.75M of stock — is being reported and can be viewed as a near-term caution for some investors. Insider Selling
• Negative Sentiment: Recent quarterly results missed estimates (EPS and revenue), reminding investors that higher oil prices need to translate into consistent operational and earnings improvement to sustain multiple expansion.

ConocoPhillips Company Profile

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is a Houston-based international energy company focused on exploration and production of oil and natural gas. Formed in 2002 through the merger of Conoco Inc and Phillips Petroleum Company, the firm operates as an independent upstream company that explores for, develops and produces crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids across a portfolio of global assets.

The company’s activities span conventional and unconventional resources and include onshore and offshore operations in multiple regions around the world.