Piper Sandler Cuts ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Price Target to $114.00

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) had its target price reduced by Piper Sandler from $135.00 to $114.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the energy producer’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Scotiabank decreased their price target on ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays lifted their target price on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $153.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 price objective for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $136.71.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

NYSE:COP opened at $95.12 on Thursday. 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’s fifty day moving average is $106.27 and its 200 day moving average is $109.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $109.47 billion, a PE ratio of 11.31, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.18. ConocoPhillips has a fifty-two week low of $94.23 and a fifty-two week high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.10. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 19.53%. The firm had revenue of $13.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.16 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 7.77 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. This is a positive change from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.10%.

Insider Activity

In other ConocoPhillips news, Director Arjun N. Murti purchased 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $95.87 per share, for a total transaction of $239,675.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 21,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,061,205. This represents a 13.16 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director R A. Walker purchased 10,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $97.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,017,120.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 38,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,716,400. The trade was a 37.68 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of ConocoPhillips

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 19.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 66,928,793 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $7,046,263,000 after purchasing an additional 10,663,093 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 20.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,161,897 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $3,280,725,000 after acquiring an additional 5,240,016 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,733,928 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $2,601,639,000 after acquiring an additional 924,289 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 12.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,557,351 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,469,163,000 after purchasing an additional 1,506,599 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in ConocoPhillips by 59.7% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,456,011 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,311,369,000 after purchasing an additional 4,656,040 shares during the period. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About ConocoPhillips

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.