ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday. The company traded as high as $142.50 and last traded at $141.2240, with a volume of 237,289 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $140.90.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $150.00 to $146.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $153.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $159.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $143.29.

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 0.4%

The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market cap of $169.91 billion, a PE ratio of 18.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.24. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $130.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $122.15.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The energy producer reported $3.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $19.52 billion during 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%. The firm’s revenue was up 32.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.42 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 10.84 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th were given a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is currently 44.44%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Andrew Lundquist sold 9,487 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were 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 owned 9,593 shares in the company, 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 this link. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ConocoPhillips

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp increased its position in ConocoPhillips by 73.2% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 118,591,447 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $12,328,767,000 after buying an additional 50,116,727 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.0% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 93,886,457 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $9,760,436,000 after acquiring an additional 2,712,703 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,072,154 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,566,901,000 after acquiring an additional 1,609,759 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,044,489 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,457,978,000 after acquiring an additional 74,261 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 10.8% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 10,181,950 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,344,017,000 after acquiring an additional 995,392 shares during the period. 82.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ConocoPhillips Company Profile

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) is an independent exploration and production company engaged in finding, developing and producing crude oil, natural gas, natural gas liquids and liquefied natural gas. Unlike integrated energy companies, ConocoPhillips focuses primarily on upstream activities rather than refining and retail fuel operations.

The company has a diversified portfolio of assets in major producing regions, including the United States, Canada, Australia, Norway and Qatar. Its U.S. operations include oil and gas developments in Alaska and the Lower 48 states, while its international portfolio includes conventional and offshore projects.