ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Upgraded at Argus

Argus upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday, Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $149.00 to $151.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $142.00 to $132.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $133.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a positive rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $144.35.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of COP opened at $113.32 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market cap of $132.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.83, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a 50-day moving average of $123.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $117.74. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $99.35 and a 12-month high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The energy producer reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $14.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.72 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 18.40% and a return on equity of 20.85%. As a group, research analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 8.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th were issued a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.27%.

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, CFO William L. Jr. Bullock sold 45,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.32, for a total transaction of $5,574,064.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 44,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,444,947.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other ConocoPhillips news, CFO William L. Jr. Bullock sold 45,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.32, for a total transaction of $5,574,064.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 44,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,444,947.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 607,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.91, for a total transaction of $76,427,370.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,780 shares in the company, valued at $853,669.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 664,350 shares of company stock valued at $83,537,680 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ConocoPhillips

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Clear Rock Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2.8% during the first quarter. Clear Rock Advisors LLC now owns 21,647 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $2,755,000 after acquiring an additional 594 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its position in ConocoPhillips by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 1,840,035 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $232,629,000 after buying an additional 42,488 shares in the last quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 1st quarter valued at about $209,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 1st quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Soltis Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 8.5% during the first quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,561 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,726,000 after buying an additional 1,068 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

About ConocoPhillips

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.