ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-eight research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $134.04.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $160.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Roth Capital raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $124.00 to $130.00 in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Capital One Financial reduced their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $156.00 to $154.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Zacks Research lowered ConocoPhillips from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on ConocoPhillips from $153.00 to $146.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 26th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ConocoPhillips

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. AXA S.A. grew its stake in ConocoPhillips by 91.1% during the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 84,937 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $7,622,000 after buying an additional 40,499 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in ConocoPhillips by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 784,368 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $70,397,000 after buying an additional 44,852 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas purchased a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the second quarter valued at about $151,000. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 53.5% in the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 4,806 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $431,000 after acquiring an additional 1,675 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

COP stock opened at $114.70 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $113.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $113.52. The company has a market capitalization of $139.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.47, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.12. ConocoPhillips has a 1-year low of $85.57 and a 1-year high of $135.87.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The energy producer reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $15.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.62 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 12.10% and a return on equity of 11.39%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.09 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 9.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is 57.05%.

Key Stories Impacting ConocoPhillips

Here are the key news stories impacting ConocoPhillips this week:

• Positive Sentiment: ConocoPhillips agreed to acquire a 42% stake in BP’s Iraq venture, increasing its exposure to the Kirkuk oilfields and more than 3 billion barrels of recoverable resources. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s Iraq agreement is part of a broader wave of U.S. corporate commitments to support Iraqi energy development, which may signal additional international growth potential. Financial Post article
• Positive Sentiment: Energy shares were broadly stronger, helping support ConocoPhillips alongside a sector-wide move higher. Yahoo Finance article
• Neutral Sentiment: Several reports noted that COP tends to move with crude oil prices, so commodity trends remain an important near-term driver for the stock. Kalkine Media article

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.