Analysts Set ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Target Price at $137.68

Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-eight analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have assigned a hold recommendation, eighteen have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $137.48.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Argus boosted their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $128.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Capital One Financial lowered their price target on ConocoPhillips from $156.00 to $154.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on ConocoPhillips from $160.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $147.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, August 7th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ConocoPhillips

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 0.3% during 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 last quarter. BlackRock Inc. boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 93,886,457 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $9,760,436,000 after purchasing an additional 2,712,703 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its position in ConocoPhillips by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 48,360,060 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $4,527,230,000 after purchasing an additional 2,714,663 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings 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 worth $3,880,151,000 after purchasing an additional 2,350,645 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings 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 worth $1,407,770,000 after purchasing an additional 648,432 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of ConocoPhillips stock opened at $129.82 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $114.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $117.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $155.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.17, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.11. ConocoPhillips has a 1-year low of $85.57 and a 1-year high of $135.87.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The energy producer reported $3.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.34. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 14.22% and a return on equity of 14.72%. The business had revenue of $19.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.79 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.42 EPS. ConocoPhillips’s revenue was up 32.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 10.05 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is 44.44%.

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.