UBS Group Has Lowered Expectations for ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Stock Price

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) had its price objective cut by research analysts at UBS Group from $140.00 to $137.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the energy producer’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 41.39% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $120.00 to $123.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Mizuho upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $132.00 to $134.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, January 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $125.00 target price for the company. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $137.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.56.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE COP opened at $96.90 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. ConocoPhillips has a 12 month low of $94.23 and a 12 month high of $135.18. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $100.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $105.91. The stock has a market cap of $111.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.44, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 16.23% and a return on equity of 17.26%. As a group, analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, Director Arjun N. Murti purchased 2,500 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $95.87 per share, with a total value of $239,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 21,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,061,205. This trade represents a 13.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director R A. Walker purchased 10,400 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $97.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,017,120.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 38,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,716,400. This represents a 37.68 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of ConocoPhillips

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 121,826,062 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $12,081,491,000 after buying an additional 12,751,120 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 19.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 66,928,793 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $7,046,263,000 after buying an additional 10,663,093 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 20.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,161,897 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,280,725,000 after buying an additional 5,240,016 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 28,131,288 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $2,792,521,000 after buying an additional 3,397,360 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 37.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 15,570,246 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,544,101,000 after buying an additional 4,211,939 shares during the period. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ConocoPhillips Company Profile

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.