ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on COP. Freedom Capital downgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Roth Mkm downgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $112.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $130.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Argus boosted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $128.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $134.60.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

NYSE COP opened at $114.89 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.29. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $123.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $108.42. ConocoPhillips has a 52-week low of $84.33 and a 52-week high of $135.87. The company has a market cap of $139.97 billion, a PE ratio of 19.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.14.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The energy producer reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.17. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 12.10% and a return on equity of 11.39%. The firm had revenue of $15.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.62 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.09 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 9.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 11th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.05%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 113,221 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.71, for a total transaction of $15,025,558.91. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 350,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,448,500. This represents a 24.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nicholas G. Olds sold 6,994 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.06, for a total value of $888,657.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $685,488.70. This represents a 56.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 734,891 shares of company stock worth $93,345,692. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of COP. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

About ConocoPhillips

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.