ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.78

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 6th,RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of 0.78 per share by the energy producer on Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.11%.

ConocoPhillips has raised its dividend by an average of 12.9% annually over the last three years. ConocoPhillips has a dividend payout ratio of 34.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect ConocoPhillips to earn $8.31 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.12 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 37.5%.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of ConocoPhillips stock opened at $100.18 on Thursday. ConocoPhillips has a 52 week low of $94.23 and a 52 week high of $135.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $115.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.91, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.18. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $101.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $106.36.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 17.29%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on COP. TD Cowen initiated coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, January 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $134.00 to $132.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 target price for the company. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $135.89.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In related news, Director R A. Walker acquired 10,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $97.80 per share, with a total value of $1,017,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 38,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,716,400. This trade represents a 37.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Arjun N. Murti bought 2,500 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $95.87 per share, with a total value of $239,675.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 21,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,061,205. This trade represents a 13.16 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Company Profile

ConocoPhillips explores for, produces, transports, and markets crude oil, bitumen, natural gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and natural gas liquids in the United States, Canada, China, Libya, Malaysia, Norway, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company's portfolio includes unconventional plays in North America; conventional assets in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia; global LNG developments; oil sands assets in Canada; and an inventory of global exploration prospects.