ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Price Target Raised to $154.00 at Piper Sandler

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) had its price target upped by equities research analysts at Piper Sandler from $111.00 to $154.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the energy producer’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 27.93% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Argus raised their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $111.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $132.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $119.33.

ConocoPhillips Stock Up 2.9%

Shares of COP stock traded up $3.34 on Thursday, hitting $120.37. The stock had a trading volume of 4,889,023 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,324,334. ConocoPhillips has a 52-week low of $79.88 and a 52-week high of $122.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $148.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.30. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $105.58 and its 200-day moving average is $96.61.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In other news, Director Timothy A. Leach sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.79, for a total transaction of $4,751,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 411,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,847,754.69. The trade was a 8.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kelly Brunetti Rose sold 8,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.04, for a total transaction of $1,003,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 32,984 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,893,431.36. This trade represents a 20.49% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 549,208 shares of company stock worth $52,070,430. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ConocoPhillips

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 18.2% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 45,645,397 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $4,318,239,000 after purchasing an additional 7,037,873 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its position in ConocoPhillips by 66.0% in the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 7,883,455 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $707,461,000 after buying an additional 3,135,315 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 31.4% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 10,778,664 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $966,267,000 after buying an additional 2,575,803 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 229.2% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,595,177 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $336,544,000 after buying an additional 2,503,156 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 41,450,162 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,880,151,000 after buying an additional 2,350,645 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About ConocoPhillips

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.