ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $135.96 and last traded at $135.8830, with a volume of 3213599 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $132.49.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Capital One Financial cut their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $156.00 to $154.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on ConocoPhillips from $160.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. UBS Group increased their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $143.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $155.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.29.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $118.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $119.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market cap of $163.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.11, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.13.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The energy producer reported $3.24 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 company had revenue of $19.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.42 earnings per share. ConocoPhillips’s quarterly revenue was up 32.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 10.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th were given a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is currently 44.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Andrew D. Lundquist sold 9,487 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.15, for a total transaction of $1,282,168.05. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 9,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,296,493.95. This represents a 49.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of ConocoPhillips

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in COP. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 151.0% during the first quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 241 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Ballast Advisors LLC acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips during the first quarter worth $36,000. Evergreen Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Allied Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips during the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.