The Goldman Sachs Group Issues Positive Forecast for ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Stock Price

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) had its price objective raised by investment analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $108.00 to $115.00 in a report released on Thursday,MarketScreener reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the energy producer’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price target points to a potential upside of 19.19% from the company’s current price.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Monday, December 29th. Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $98.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Susquehanna reduced their target price on ConocoPhillips to $113.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on ConocoPhillips from $116.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 5th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $111.00.

ConocoPhillips Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of COP opened at $96.48 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $93.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $119.22 billion, a PE ratio of 13.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.32. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $79.88 and a 12-month high of $106.20. 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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 14.25% and a return on equity of 13.64%. The business had revenue of $15.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.78 earnings per share. ConocoPhillips’s revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, Director William H. Mcraven acquired 5,768 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $86.68 per share, for a total transaction of $499,970.24. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 5,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $499,970.24. This represents a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 500,708 shares of the firm’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 value of $46,315,490.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 325,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,152,410. The trade was a 60.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ConocoPhillips

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. IMS Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 2nd quarter worth about $275,000. Mather Group LLC. lifted its position in ConocoPhillips by 1.8% during the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 22,842 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $2,050,000 after acquiring an additional 399 shares during the last quarter. Clarus Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 16.9% during the second quarter. Clarus Group Inc. now owns 9,355 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $840,000 after acquiring an additional 1,355 shares during the period. Harrell Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 162.5% during the 2nd quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 8,653 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $777,000 after purchasing an additional 5,357 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exeter Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 1.9% during the second quarter. Exeter Financial LLC now owns 20,742 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,861,000 after buying an additional 392 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

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.