ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Price Target Raised to $149.00 at Morgan Stanley

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) had its price objective upped by Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $149.00 in a report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the energy producer’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on ConocoPhillips from $116.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Barclays raised their price target on ConocoPhillips from $118.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Raymond James Financial boosted their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Argus raised their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $111.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.16.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of ConocoPhillips stock opened at $133.94 on Friday. ConocoPhillips has a 12 month low of $79.88 and a 12 month high of $134.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $112.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $99.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $165.51 billion, a PE ratio of 21.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.27.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The energy producer reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.23 by ($0.21). ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 11.90% and a net margin of 12.98%.The business had revenue of $13.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.35 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.98 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 18th were paid a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ConocoPhillips news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 506,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.26, for a total transaction of $64,495,368.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 6,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $869,822.10. The trade was a 98.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kelly Brunetti Rose sold 7,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 24th. The stock was 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 owned 25,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,287,678.52. This trade represents a 23.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 621,670 shares of company stock valued at $78,320,133 over the last quarter. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of ConocoPhillips

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting ConocoPhillips

Here are the key news stories impacting ConocoPhillips this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its price target to $149 and moved COP to “overweight,” supporting further upside from current levels. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts’ fair‑value updates lifted ConocoPhillips’ estimate (to ~$128.29 in one note), reflecting higher medium‑term oil price assumptions that justify stronger EPS/valuation scenarios. COP investment story shifting (Yahoo)
• Positive Sentiment: COP recently hit a 52‑week high, signaling momentum and investor appetite for large independent E&P names. 52‑week high (Investing.com)
• Positive Sentiment: Higher oil prices (Brent above ~$95) are a sector tailwind for upstream producers like ConocoPhillips, boosting cash flow sensitivity to commodity strength. Oil >$95 sector note (Yahoo)
• Neutral Sentiment: Options desks flag COP as a covered‑call candidate given elevated prices and implied volatility — indicates some investors prefer income harvesting over outright bullish exposure. Covered‑call interest (Barchart)
• Neutral Sentiment: Truist initiated coverage (new analyst attention); some houses remain cautious or have wide target ranges, so consensus expectations are mixed and valuation dispersion remains high. Truist initiation (American Banking News)
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling was disclosed this week (including SVP Kelly Brunetti Rose and reports of larger executive sales); heavy insider dispositions can raise short‑term investor caution about near‑term allocation. Insider sales disclosure (InsiderTrades)
• Negative Sentiment: Geopolitical/operational risk: ConocoPhillips has sought U.S. protection around Qatari energy assets after regional strikes — evacuations and security actions add near‑term operational uncertainty for LNG and related projects. Qatar protection request (Yahoo)

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.