ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Rating Increased to Overweight at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a research note published on Thursday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has $123.00 price target on the energy producer’s stock, up from their previous price target of $120.00.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on COP. Susquehanna increased their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, September 13th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $145.00 to $138.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, October 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $139.06.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of ConocoPhillips stock opened at $103.22 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $118.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.18. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $108.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $110.23. ConocoPhillips has a twelve month low of $101.29 and a twelve month high of $135.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.30.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.10. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 17.29%. The company had revenue of $13.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.16 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 7.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This is a boost from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.02%. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is 37.10%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ConocoPhillips

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 83.8% in the 2nd quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 16,427 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,879,000 after acquiring an additional 7,490 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 23.6% in the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 71,097 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $7,488,000 after purchasing an additional 13,595 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 1.9% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,489,514 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $262,094,000 after purchasing an additional 46,621 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 5,422.3% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,587,729 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $482,996,000 after buying an additional 4,504,653 shares during the period. Finally, TCW Group Inc. increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 37.8% in the 2nd quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 30,026 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $3,434,000 after buying an additional 8,231 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

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.