ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) had its price target upped by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $149.00 to $153.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,MarketScreener reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the energy producer’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective points to a potential upside of 24.01% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on COP. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $118.00 to $152.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $154.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Raymond James Financial boosted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $118.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on ConocoPhillips from $98.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.28.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

COP opened at $123.38 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $123.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. ConocoPhillips has a 1 year low of $84.28 and a 1 year high of $135.87. The stock has a market cap of $150.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.94, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.14.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The energy producer reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.17. The company 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 business earned $2.09 EPS. Analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 9.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Kelly Brunetti Rose sold 7,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.03, for a total transaction of $1,001,231.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 25,284 shares in the company, valued at $3,287,678.52. This represents a 23.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Heather G. Hrap sold 2,654 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.68, for a total value of $317,630.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 5,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $677,747.84. The trade was a 31.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 734,891 shares of company stock worth $93,345,692 over the last 90 days. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AXA S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 91.1% in the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 84,937 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $7,622,000 after buying an additional 40,499 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 6.1% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 784,368 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $70,397,000 after buying an additional 44,852 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the second quarter worth $33,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the second quarter valued at $151,000. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 53.5% in the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 4,806 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $431,000 after acquiring an additional 1,675 shares during the period. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.