ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Sets New 1-Year High at $128.64

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $128.64 and last traded at $127.28, with a volume of 283769 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $126.84.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $139.00 price objective (up from $132.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Raymond James cut their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $137.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $152.00 to $133.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Scotiabank raised their target price on ConocoPhillips from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $139.00 to $133.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $135.12.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $113.49 and a 200 day moving average of $116.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market capitalization of $149.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.23.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The energy producer reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $15.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.47 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 18.71% and a return on equity of 22.08%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.71 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 8.79 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 19th were paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. 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 2.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is currently 25.61%.

Insider Transactions at ConocoPhillips

In related news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 607,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.91, for a total transaction of $76,427,370.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,780 shares in the company, valued at $853,669.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other ConocoPhillips news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 607,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.91, for a total transaction of $76,427,370.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 6,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $853,669.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Heather G. Hrap sold 4,548 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.55, for a total value of $502,781.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,654 shares in the company, valued at approximately $293,399.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 700,775 shares of company stock worth $87,615,169 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ConocoPhillips

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,075,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 4th quarter worth approximately $92,000. Cooksen Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the 4th quarter valued at $198,000. Finally, Ariston Services Group purchased a new position in ConocoPhillips during the fourth quarter worth $556,000. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.