ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Reaches New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $125.00 to $135.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. ConocoPhillips traded as high as $119.30 and last traded at $117.7450, with a volume of 2916253 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $113.46.

COP has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $132.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Wolfe Research lifted their target price on ConocoPhillips from $122.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Argus lifted their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $111.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $116.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 500,708 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.50, for a total value of $46,315,490.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 325,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,152,410. The trade was a 60.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.30. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $101.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $95.38. The company has a market cap of $145.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.61, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.27.

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

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is currently 53.00%.

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.