ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Rating Lowered to Hold at Freedom Broker

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Freedom Broker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Briefing.com reports. They currently have a $138.00 target price on the energy producer’s stock. Freedom Broker‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 1.76% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Mizuho set a $149.00 price objective on ConocoPhillips in a report on Thursday, November 5th. Argus upped their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $136.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $157.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. Finally, William Blair initiated coverage on ConocoPhillips in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $145.00.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:COP opened at $135.61 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.37. ConocoPhillips has a 12 month low of $85.70 and a 12 month high of $154.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $160.34 billion, a PE ratio of 14.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.16. The business has a 50-day moving average of $137.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $122.49.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The energy producer reported $3.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.05 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $19.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.59 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 16.55% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 29.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.61 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 12.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Andrew Lundquist sold 9,487 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.15, for a total transaction of $1,282,168.05. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 9,593 shares in the company, valued at $1,296,493.95. This represents a 49.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ConocoPhillips

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 73.2% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 118,591,447 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $12,328,767,000 after purchasing an additional 50,116,727 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the second quarter worth $1,260,482,000. Primecap Management Co. CA acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the second quarter worth $1,204,726,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 1,181.0% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 8,172,490 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,022,787,000 after buying an additional 7,534,536 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the second quarter valued at $716,151,000. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

ConocoPhillips Company Profile

ConocoPhillips is an independent exploration and production company focused on finding, developing and producing oil and natural gas. Its products include crude oil, natural gas, liquefied natural gas and natural gas liquids. The company operates in several regions, including North America, Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and the Asia-Pacific. Its activities span exploration, development and production, with a portfolio that includes both conventional and unconventional resources. ConocoPhillips was formed in 2002 through the merger of Conoco and Phillips Petroleum.