ConocoPhillips Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.78 (NYSE:COP)

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, May 9th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of 0.78 per share by the energy producer on Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th.

ConocoPhillips has increased its dividend payment by an average of 6.9% annually over the last three years. ConocoPhillips has a dividend payout ratio of 41.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect ConocoPhillips to earn $8.84 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.12 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 35.3%.

ConocoPhillips Stock Down 0.3 %

ConocoPhillips stock opened at $88.58 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $111.98 billion, a PE ratio of 11.37, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.64. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $79.88 and a 12-month high of $122.56. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $93.08 and its 200 day moving average is $99.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The energy producer reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.04. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 16.23% and a return on equity of 17.26%. The company had revenue of $16.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.05 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on COP shares. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $115.00 to $95.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, January 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price target for the company. Susquehanna set a $136.00 price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $131.00 to $116.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $116.00 to $111.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $124.89.

ConocoPhillips Company Profile

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.