BMO Capital Markets Issues Pessimistic Forecast for ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Stock Price

Key Points

• BMO Capital Markets cut its price target on ConocoPhillips from $140 to $135 while keeping an outperform rating. The new target still implies about 16% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment on COP remains mostly positive overall, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $132.84. Recent firms including Wolfe Research, Jefferies, and Raymond James also raised their targets.
• ConocoPhillips recently reported better-than-expected quarterly EPS and revenue, but revenue still declined 6.1% year over year. Insider selling has also been notable, including a large share sale by CEO Ryan Michael Lance.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) had its price objective lowered by equities researchers at BMO Capital Markets from $140.00 to $135.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has an "outperform" rating on the energy producer's stock. BMO Capital Markets' price target points to a potential upside of 16.06% from the company's previous close.

COP has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Scotiabank upped their target price on ConocoPhillips from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wolfe Research raised their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $132.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $129.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised their price target on ConocoPhillips from $118.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $132.84.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

COP stock opened at $116.32 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $122.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $105.73. ConocoPhillips has a one year low of $84.28 and a one year high of $135.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $141.71 billion, a PE ratio of 19.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.14.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The energy producer reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.17. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 12.10% and a return on equity of 11.39%. The firm had revenue of $15.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.09 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

In related news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 506,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.26, for a total value of $64,495,368.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 6,835 shares in the company, valued at approximately $869,822.10. This trade represents a 98.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Kelly Brunetti Rose sold 8,500 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 32,984 shares in the company, valued at $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 90 days, insiders have sold 734,891 shares of company stock valued at $93,345,692. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of ConocoPhillips

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COP. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 14.7% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,331,176 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $220,506,000 after buying an additional 298,245 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,996,426 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $188,842,000 after acquiring an additional 160,410 shares in the last quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 389,995 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $36,890,000 after acquiring an additional 11,958 shares in the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its position in ConocoPhillips by 107.5% during the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 103,430 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $9,783,000 after acquiring an additional 53,587 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,892,000. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company's stock.

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.

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