ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Price Target Cut to $135.00 by Analysts at BMO Capital Markets

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) had its target price cut by BMO Capital Markets from $140.00 to $135.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the energy producer’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on COP. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $132.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $102.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, January 16th. Zacks Research raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $108.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $132.84.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of COP opened at $117.35 on Wednesday. ConocoPhillips has a 1 year low of $84.28 and a 1 year high of $135.87. The company has a market cap of $142.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.29. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $122.93 and a 200-day moving average of $105.92.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The energy producer reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.17. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 12.10% and a return on equity of 11.39%. The company had revenue of $15.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.09 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 9.62 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th will be issued a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 113,221 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.71, for a total value of $15,025,558.91. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 350,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,448,500. This represents a 24.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nicholas G. Olds sold 6,994 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.06, for a total transaction of $888,657.64. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $685,488.70. The trade was a 56.45% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 734,891 shares of company stock valued at $93,345,692. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ConocoPhillips

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of COP. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in ConocoPhillips by 151.0% in the first quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 241 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Evergreen Advisors LLC bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the first quarter worth about $36,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.