Morgan Stanley Cuts ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Price Target to $126.00

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) had its price objective decreased by Morgan Stanley from $131.00 to $126.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the energy producer’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on COP. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, December 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $127.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $132.95.

ConocoPhillips Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of ConocoPhillips stock opened at $102.37 on Thursday. ConocoPhillips has a 1 year low of $86.81 and a 1 year high of $135.18. The firm has a market cap of $130.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.14, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a 50-day moving average of $98.95 and a 200 day moving average of $103.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 16.23% and a return on equity of 17.26%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were given a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is 40.05%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of COP. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,342 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $331,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Principle Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC now owns 37,255 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,695,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 8,640 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $857,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Courier Capital LLC raised its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Courier Capital LLC now owns 20,481 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $2,031,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gray Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Gray Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,171 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $215,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

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.