ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Reaches New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $112.97 and last traded at $108.6720, with a volume of 321725 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $111.43.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $116.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Argus boosted their target price on ConocoPhillips from $111.00 to $128.00 in a report on Friday. Finally, Wolfe Research increased their price target on ConocoPhillips from $122.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $115.54.

ConocoPhillips Stock Down 2.3%

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $98.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $94.30. The company has a market capitalization of $134.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.16 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The energy producer reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by ($0.21). ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 11.90% and a net margin of 12.98%.The company had revenue of $13.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.35 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.98 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ConocoPhillips news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 500,708 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.50, for a total value of $46,315,490.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 325,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,152,410. This represents a 60.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of COP. Tema Etfs LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,804,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 12.1% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 140,829 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $13,321,000 after acquiring an additional 15,202 shares during the last quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC increased its position in ConocoPhillips by 3.2% in the third quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 389,995 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $36,890,000 after purchasing an additional 11,958 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 107.5% during the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 103,430 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $9,783,000 after purchasing an additional 53,587 shares during the last quarter. Finally, StoneX Group Inc. raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 510.5% during the 2nd quarter. StoneX Group Inc. now owns 29,285 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $2,628,000 after purchasing an additional 24,488 shares during the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.