ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Rating Increased to Hold at Zacks Research

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) was upgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

COP has been the topic of a number of other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $130.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $98.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $118.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Argus raised their price objective 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 analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.16.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of COP stock opened at $132.02 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.30. ConocoPhillips has a fifty-two week low of $79.88 and a fifty-two week high of $135.87. The firm has a market cap of $163.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.27. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $113.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $99.71.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The energy producer reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by ($0.21). ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 11.90%. The business had revenue of $13.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.98 EPS. ConocoPhillips’s revenue was down 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at ConocoPhillips

In related news, EVP Nicholas G. Olds sold 6,994 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.06, for a total transaction of $888,657.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $685,488.70. The trade was a 56.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 506,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.26, for a total transaction of $64,495,368.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 6,835 shares in the company, valued at approximately $869,822.10. This trade represents a 98.67% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 621,670 shares of company stock worth $78,320,133. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ConocoPhillips

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in COP. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 18.2% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 45,645,397 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $4,318,239,000 after buying an additional 7,037,873 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in ConocoPhillips by 31.4% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 10,778,664 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $966,267,000 after buying an additional 2,575,803 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 229.2% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,595,177 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $336,544,000 after buying an additional 2,503,156 shares during the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 31.3% during the third quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 10,351,010 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $979,102,000 after buying an additional 2,467,555 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 41,450,162 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,880,151,000 after acquiring an additional 2,350,645 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.