ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Announces $0.78 Quarterly Dividend

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, May 2nd, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a dividend of 0.78 per share by the energy producer on Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th.

ConocoPhillips has increased its dividend payment by an average of 7.7% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 6 years. ConocoPhillips has a dividend payout ratio of 24.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect ConocoPhillips to earn $10.49 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.32 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 22.1%.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

ConocoPhillips stock opened at $123.06 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $124.31 and its 200-day moving average is $117.59. The company has a market cap of $143.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.21. ConocoPhillips has a 12 month low of $97.42 and a 12 month high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The energy producer reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $15.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.47 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 20.85% and a net margin of 18.40%. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.71 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 9.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 607,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.91, for a total transaction of $76,427,370.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $853,669.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 607,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.91, for a total value of $76,427,370.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 6,780 shares in the company, valued at approximately $853,669.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nicholas G. Olds sold 12,150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.44, for a total value of $1,536,246.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,836,161.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 700,775 shares of company stock valued at $87,615,169. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group raised their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Raymond James dropped their target price on ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $137.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on ConocoPhillips from $149.00 to $151.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Susquehanna raised their target price on ConocoPhillips from $133.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $142.76.

ConocoPhillips Company Profile

ConocoPhillips explores for, produces, transports, and markets crude oil, bitumen, natural gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and natural gas liquids in the United States, Canada, China, Libya, Malaysia, Norway, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company's portfolio includes unconventional plays in North America; conventional assets in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia; global LNG developments; oil sands assets in Canada; and an inventory of global exploration prospects.