ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Sets New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $107.18 and last traded at $106.6270, with a volume of 550839 shares. The stock had previously closed at $104.91.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on COP. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $102.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $116.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 5th. Raymond James Financial raised their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $98.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $110.96.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market cap of $131.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.03 and a beta of 0.32. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $95.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $93.42.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The energy producer reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 13.64% and a net margin of 14.25%.The company had revenue of $15.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.78 earnings per share. ConocoPhillips’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th were paid a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 17th. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. This is a positive change from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.52%.

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, Director William H. Mcraven purchased 5,768 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $86.68 per share, with a total value of $499,970.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $499,970.24. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 500,708 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.50, for a total value of $46,315,490.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 325,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,152,410. This represents a 60.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SVB Wealth LLC increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 36,087 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $3,378,000 after buying an additional 4,190 shares during the period. Colonial River Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. Colonial River Investments LLC now owns 6,351 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $595,000 after acquiring an additional 602 shares in the last quarter. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the fourth quarter worth $592,000. Pure Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 19.7% during the fourth quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,978 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $653,000 after acquiring an additional 1,150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Income Insurance Ltd acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the fourth quarter valued at $352,000. 82.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ConocoPhillips Company Profile

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.