Wells Fargo & Company Boosts ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Price Target to $151.00

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) had its target price upped by Wells Fargo & Company from $149.00 to $151.00 in a research report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the energy producer’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $137.00 and set a strong-buy rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Susquehanna upped their target price on ConocoPhillips from $133.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a positive rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Mizuho reiterated a neutral rating and set a $139.00 price target (up from $132.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Five 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $142.76.

ConocoPhillips Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of ConocoPhillips stock traded down $0.02 during trading on Friday, reaching $122.23. The company had a trading volume of 5,020,657 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,434,834. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.35. ConocoPhillips has a fifty-two week low of $95.81 and a fifty-two week high of $135.18. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $123.85 and its 200-day moving average is $117.73. The company has a market cap of $143.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.25.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The energy producer reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $15.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.47 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 20.85% and a net margin of 18.40%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.71 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 9.11 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In related news, VP Christopher P. Delk sold 8,505 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.06, for a total value of $953,070.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Heather G. Hrap sold 4,548 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.55, for a total value of $502,781.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $293,399.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Christopher P. Delk sold 8,505 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.06, for a total value of $953,070.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 700,775 shares of company stock valued at $87,615,169. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of ConocoPhillips

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of COP. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 4,726,952 shares in the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its position in ConocoPhillips by 512.8% in the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 3,737,026 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $433,757,000 after purchasing an additional 3,127,165 shares during the period. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the third quarter worth $310,102,000. Capital Wealth Planning LLC increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 45,426.8% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,429,085 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $171,204,000 after buying an additional 1,425,946 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3,931.3% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,455,878 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $185,304,000 after buying an additional 1,419,764 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.