ConocoPhillips (COP) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.78 on March 3rd

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 6th,RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th will be given a dividend of 0.78 per share by the energy producer on Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th.

ConocoPhillips has raised its dividend by an average of 12.9% per year over the last three years. ConocoPhillips has a payout ratio of 34.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect ConocoPhillips to earn $8.94 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 34.9%.

ConocoPhillips Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE COP opened at $100.93 on Wednesday. ConocoPhillips has a 12 month low of $94.23 and a 12 month high of $135.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $100.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $105.97. The stock has a market cap of $116.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 17.26% and a net margin of 16.23%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, Director R A. Walker bought 10,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $97.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,017,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 38,000 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Arjun N. Murti purchased 2,500 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction that occurred 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 purchase, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COP has been the topic of several research reports. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Raymond James lowered ConocoPhillips from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $157.00 to $124.00 in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $120.00 to $123.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Mizuho upgraded ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $132.00 to $134.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, January 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price objective on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.72.

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.