ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Sets New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday. The stock traded as high as $152.77 and last traded at $150.4840, with a volume of 7,243,476 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $150.80.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $153.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded ConocoPhillips from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Argus raised their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $136.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $151.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.00.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $134.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $122.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market cap of $182.46 billion, a PE ratio of 20.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.24.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The energy producer reported $3.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $19.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.79 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 14.72% and a net margin of 14.22%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 32.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.42 EPS. Research analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 11.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th were given a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.44%.

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

In related news, SVP Andrew Lundquist sold 9,487 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.15, for a total value of $1,282,168.05. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 9,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,296,493.95. This represents a 49.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of ConocoPhillips

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of COP. Venture Visionary Partners LLC lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 263.6% during the third quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 118,655 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $14,850,000 after buying an additional 86,019 shares during the period. Cooper Financial Group lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 55.9% during the third quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 11,635 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,456,000 after buying an additional 4,172 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,896,000. Qsemble Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,645,000. Finally, Cetera Trust Company N.A purchased a new position in ConocoPhillips in the second quarter worth $870,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Company Profile

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) is an independent exploration and production company engaged in finding, developing and producing oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Unlike integrated energy companies, it primarily focuses on upstream activities rather than operating large refining or retail fuel businesses.

The company’s portfolio includes conventional and unconventional oil and natural gas assets, liquefied natural gas-related interests, oil sands operations and other energy resources.