ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) EVP Sells $1,733,345.92 in Stock

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) EVP Nicholas Olds sold 14,522 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.36, for a total transaction of $1,733,345.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 12,389 shares in the company, valued at $1,478,751.04. The trade was a 53.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of COP stock traded down $0.52 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $121.37. The stock had a trading volume of 7,467,336 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,445,663. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.14. ConocoPhillips has a twelve month low of $79.88 and a twelve month high of $122.50. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $106.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $96.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $149.98 billion, a PE ratio of 19.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.27.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The energy producer reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.23 by ($0.21). The business had revenue of $13.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.35 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 11.90% and a net margin of 12.98%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.98 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is currently 53.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on COP shares. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on ConocoPhillips from $116.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and set a $102.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, January 16th. Capital One Financial lifted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $111.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Johnson Rice cut shares of ConocoPhillips from an “accumulate” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $108.00 to $105.00 in a report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on ConocoPhillips from $130.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $119.75.

Institutional Trading of ConocoPhillips

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. World Investment Advisors grew its position in ConocoPhillips by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 75,617 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $7,078,000 after buying an additional 2,821 shares in the last quarter. Larry Mathis Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in ConocoPhillips during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $470,000. Union Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 4th quarter worth about $148,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 2,992,999 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $280,192,000 after purchasing an additional 207,459 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Redwood Family Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $326,000. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ConocoPhillips News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting ConocoPhillips this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Barclays raised its price target on COP to $128 and upgraded the stock to “overweight,” signaling analyst confidence in further upside from current levels. This provides near-term support for the share price. Barclays Lifts PT on ConocoPhillips (COP) to $128 From $118 – Here’s Why
• Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler also materially increased its target to $154, a more bullish view that implies larger upside and may attract buy-side interest into the stock. ConocoPhillips (COP) Price Target Increased to $154 at Piper Sandler
• Neutral Sentiment: Top U.S. oil CEOs, including ConocoPhillips’ peers, warned the White House that the energy crisis from the Middle East conflict could worsen. Higher oil-price risk could be a tailwind for COP but also increases macro volatility and policy risk. US oil CEOs warn Trump administration that energy crisis likely to worsen, WSJ reports
• Negative Sentiment: Recent reporting on insider share sales at ConocoPhillips raised questions about capital-return plans and the outlook, which can weigh on investor confidence and pressure the stock. ConocoPhillips Insider Sales Stir Questions On Capital Returns And Outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Recent quarterly results showed EPS and revenue below Street estimates, reminding investors that operational/commodity cycles and near-term results can disappoint even as longer-term price targets rise. This keeps some traders cautious. ConocoPhillips Trading / Recent Results

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.