ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Given Neutral Rating at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued their neutral rating on shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $98.00 price target on the energy producer’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on COP. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, October 17th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $100.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wolfe Research lowered their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $126.00 to $122.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $116.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $110.83.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of COP stock opened at $95.44 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $92.95 and a 200-day moving average of $92.94. ConocoPhillips has a one year low of $79.88 and a one year high of $106.20. The company has a market cap of $117.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.32.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The energy producer reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 13.64% and a net margin of 14.25%.The company had revenue of $15.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.78 earnings per share. ConocoPhillips’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th were issued a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 17th. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. This is an increase from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is presently 47.52%.

Insider Transactions at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, Director William H. Mcraven acquired 5,768 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $86.68 per share, with a total value of $499,970.24. Following the purchase, the director owned 5,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $499,970.24. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 500,708 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.50, for a total transaction of $46,315,490.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 325,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,152,410. This represents a 60.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in COP. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 136.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 315 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. 82.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About ConocoPhillips

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.