ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Downgraded by Zacks Research to Hold

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

COP has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Roth Mkm lowered ConocoPhillips from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $112.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Wolfe Research raised their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. UBS Group raised their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $130.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $118.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $134.60.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

NYSE:COP opened at $114.89 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $123.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $139.97 billion, a PE ratio of 19.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. ConocoPhillips has a twelve month low of $84.33 and a twelve month high of $135.87.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The energy producer reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $15.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.62 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 11.39% and a net margin of 12.10%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.09 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 9.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, SVP Kelly Brunetti Rose sold 8,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.04, for a total value of $1,003,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 32,984 shares in the company, valued at $3,893,431.36. This represents a 20.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy A. Leach sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.79, for a total value of $4,751,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 411,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,847,754.69. This trade represents a 8.87% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 734,891 shares of company stock worth $93,345,692. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in ConocoPhillips by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 120,251,183 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $11,256,713,000 after purchasing an additional 408,304 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 48,360,060 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $4,527,230,000 after buying an additional 2,714,663 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 41,450,162 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $3,880,151,000 after buying an additional 2,350,645 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 15,038,675 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,407,770,000 after buying an additional 648,432 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,847,367 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,389,862,000 after buying an additional 193,401 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Company Profile

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.