ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Raised to Hold at Zacks Research

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) was upgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on COP. Johnson Rice cut ConocoPhillips from an “accumulate” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $108.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded ConocoPhillips from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, Argus raised their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $111.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.16.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

COP stock opened at $132.02 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $113.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $99.71. The stock has a market cap of $163.14 billion, a PE ratio of 20.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.27. ConocoPhillips has a one year low of $79.88 and a one year high of $135.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Andrew D. Lundquist sold 34,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.68, for a total transaction of $4,128,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 17,469 shares in the company, valued at $2,090,689.92. This represents a 66.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Nicholas G. Olds sold 14,522 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.36, for a total value of $1,733,345.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 12,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,478,751.04. The trade was a 53.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 621,670 shares of company stock valued at $78,320,133. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of ConocoPhillips

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Scotia Capital Inc. grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 11.2% in the 2nd quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 6,805 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $611,000 after acquiring an additional 683 shares during the last quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the second quarter valued at about $251,000. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.9% during the second quarter. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 26,389 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $2,368,000 after acquiring an additional 981 shares during the last quarter. Nicolet Bankshares Inc. raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 4.4% during the second quarter. Nicolet Bankshares Inc. now owns 3,098 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $278,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the second quarter worth about $84,000. Institutional investors 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.