ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Reaches New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday after Susquehanna raised their price target on the stock from $161.00 to $175.00. Susquehanna currently has a positive rating on the stock. ConocoPhillips traded as high as $146.70 and last traded at $145.34, with a volume of 4,342,119 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $146.51.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on COP. Mizuho decreased their target price on ConocoPhillips from $150.00 to $146.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings raised ConocoPhillips from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $157.00 price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Tuesday. Zacks Research raised ConocoPhillips from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners began coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $145.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In related news, SVP Andrew Lundquist sold 9,487 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 9,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,296,493.95. The trade was a 49.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ConocoPhillips

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

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $133.34 and a 200-day moving average of $122.69. The company has a market cap of $175.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The energy producer reported $3.24 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.34. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 14.72% and a net margin of 14.22%. The company had revenue of $19.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.42 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 32.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 11.19 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th were issued a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.44%.

About ConocoPhillips

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

The company’s portfolio includes conventional and unconventional oil and natural gas assets, liquefied natural gas-related interests, oil sands operations and other energy resources.