ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Price Target Cut to $126.00 by Analysts at Wolfe Research

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) had its price target decreased by Wolfe Research from $131.00 to $126.00 in a research report report published on Monday,MarketScreener reports. Wolfe Research currently has an outperform rating on the energy producer’s stock.

COP has been the subject of several other reports. Roth Capital decreased their target price on ConocoPhillips from $108.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on ConocoPhillips from $112.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 8th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, October 17th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $100.00 target price on the stock. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $113.19.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

COP opened at $99.61 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $90.89 and a 200-day moving average of $92.52. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $79.88 and a 12-month high of $106.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $123.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.13, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The energy producer reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $15.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.51 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 14.25% and a return on equity of 13.64%. ConocoPhillips’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.78 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th were paid a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. This is a boost from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 17th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In other news, Director William H. Mcraven purchased 5,768 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $86.68 per share, for a total transaction of $499,970.24. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 5,768 shares in the company, valued at $499,970.24. This trade represents a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 500,708 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.50, for a total transaction of $46,315,490.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 325,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,152,410. This represents a 60.57% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 45,645,397 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $4,318,239,000 after purchasing an additional 7,037,873 shares during the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 66.0% during the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 7,883,455 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $707,461,000 after buying an additional 3,135,315 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 31.4% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 10,778,664 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $966,267,000 after acquiring an additional 2,575,803 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 145.8% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,933,286 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $263,233,000 after acquiring an additional 1,740,009 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 6,156.1% during the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,508,169 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $135,343,000 after acquiring an additional 1,484,062 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting ConocoPhillips

Here are the key news stories impacting ConocoPhillips this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Large Venezuela upside: A Seeking Alpha piece argues ConocoPhillips could convert a ~$12B arbitration claim into near-zero-cost stakes in Orinoco Belt assets and may receive ~$1.4B from a Citgo auction to fund Venezuelan infrastructure — a scenario that could meaningfully increase long-term production (up to ~500k bpd by 2030) and cash flow. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: U.S. policy tailwinds: President Trump suggested the U.S. may subsidize oil companies to rebuild Venezuela’s energy infrastructure, and reports say the administration is pressing majors to invest if they want to recover expropriation claims — both items lift the prospect of accelerated re-entry and capital support for companies like COP. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Market reaction / momentum: Headlines around Venezuela and the U.S. operation to capture Maduro spurred a broad rally in U.S. oil majors (including COP) and unusually large call-option activity on COP, signaling bullish positioning by traders. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed communications and uncertainty: Multiple reports indicate the Trump administration did not consult U.S. oil majors (including COP) before or after the Venezuelan operation — this underscores operational and policy uncertainty despite the positive headlines. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary roundup: Coverage and commentary pieces are reassessing COP as a top oil play if Venezuela reopens; (MSN/TipRanks/Barchart summaries) are amplifying interest but not providing a unified view on timing. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Price-target cut: Sanford C. Bernstein lowered its COP price target from $116 to $98 (still an Outperform rating), reducing upside in some analysts’ models and creating short-term pressure on the stock. Article Title

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.