ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Reaches New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $137.53 and last traded at $136.4490, with a volume of 339148 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $134.26.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on COP. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $138.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Freedom Capital raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $160.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $168.00 price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Monday, August 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.29.

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 1.5%

The business has a 50-day moving average of $120.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $119.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $163.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.13.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The energy producer reported $3.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $19.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.79 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 14.72% and a net margin of 14.22%.ConocoPhillips’s quarterly revenue was up 32.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.42 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 10.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th were paid a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In other news, SVP Andrew Lundquist sold 9,487 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.15, for a total value of $1,282,168.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 9,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,296,493.95. This represents a 49.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ConocoPhillips

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Patten Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 1.5% in the first quarter. Patten Group Inc. now owns 5,447 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $719,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. IFC Advisors LLC boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 0.4% in the first quarter. IFC Advisors LLC now owns 20,182 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $2,664,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 9.6% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 1,006 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $124,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 0.4% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 21,144 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $2,791,000 after buying an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sigma Planning Corp raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 0.6% in the first quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 16,062 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $2,120,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

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.