Piper Sandler Raises ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Price Target to $157.00

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) had its price target hoisted by Piper Sandler from $145.00 to $157.00 in a research note published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the energy producer’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on COP. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $152.00 to $133.00 and set a positive rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 26th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Raymond James cut their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $137.00 and set a strong-buy rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Mizuho reissued a neutral rating and set a $139.00 target price (up previously from $132.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $142.00.

ConocoPhillips Stock Down 0.4 %

COP opened at $127.81 on Thursday. ConocoPhillips has a fifty-two week low of $95.70 and a fifty-two week high of $135.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.43. The company has a fifty day moving average of $120.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $117.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $150.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.11, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.24.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The energy producer reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.32. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 18.71% and a return on equity of 22.08%. The company had revenue of $15.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.71 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 19th were issued a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.44%. This is a positive change from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is presently 25.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, EVP Nicholas G. Olds sold 12,150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.44, for a total value of $1,536,246.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,836,161.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Nicholas G. Olds sold 12,150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.44, for a total value of $1,536,246.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,836,161.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 607,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.91, for a total transaction of $76,427,370.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 6,780 shares in the company, valued at $853,669.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 700,775 shares of company stock worth $87,615,169 in the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ConocoPhillips

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 27,672,104 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,211,901,000 after buying an additional 108,956 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 24.9% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 23,712,617 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $2,752,325,000 after purchasing an additional 4,726,952 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 26.6% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 16,647,723 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,964,432,000 after purchasing an additional 3,497,750 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 12,486,871 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,495,927,000 after purchasing an additional 386,276 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,028,061 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,440,962,000 after purchasing an additional 1,152,907 shares during the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About ConocoPhillips

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.