ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Upgraded by JPMorgan Chase & Co. to “Overweight” Rating

JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a report released on Thursday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $123.00 target price on the energy producer’s stock, up from their previous target price of $120.00.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on COP. Barclays upped their target price on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho upped their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on ConocoPhillips from $145.00 to $138.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.44.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of NYSE COP opened at $104.44 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $108.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $110.43. The firm has a market cap of $120.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.18. ConocoPhillips has a 52 week low of $101.29 and a 52 week high of $135.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $13.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.97 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 17.29%. ConocoPhillips’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.16 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 7.76 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This is an increase from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.10%.

Institutional Trading of ConocoPhillips

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 19.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 66,928,793 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $7,046,263,000 after acquiring an additional 10,663,093 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 20.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,161,897 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,280,725,000 after acquiring an additional 5,240,016 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,733,928 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $2,601,639,000 after acquiring an additional 924,289 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,557,351 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,469,163,000 after acquiring an additional 1,506,599 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 59.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,456,011 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,311,369,000 after acquiring an additional 4,656,040 shares during the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.