ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Lowered to Hold Rating by Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded ConocoPhillips from strong-buy to hold, even though several other analysts recently maintained bullish views and raised price targets.
• The stock was trading around $114.89 after a slight 0.2% decline, while the company reported quarterly EPS of $1.89, topping estimates but with revenue down 6.1% year over year.
• There was notable insider selling, including CEO Ryan Michael Lance selling over 113,000 shares; meanwhile, institutional investors still own the vast majority of the stock at about 82.36%.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Citigroup upped their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $132.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $154.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. UBS Group upped their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $130.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $136.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $134.60.

ConocoPhillips Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of ConocoPhillips stock opened at $114.89 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $123.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $108.42. ConocoPhillips has a 1 year low of $84.33 and a 1 year high of $135.87. The company has a market capitalization of $139.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The energy producer reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $15.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.62 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 11.39% and a net margin of 12.10%.The company's quarterly revenue was down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. Research analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 9.92 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

In other news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 113,221 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.71, for a total transaction of $15,025,558.91. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 350,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,448,500. This represents a 24.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Heather G. Hrap sold 2,654 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.68, for a total value of $317,630.72. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 5,663 shares in the company, valued at approximately $677,747.84. This trade represents a 31.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 734,891 shares of company stock worth $93,345,692 in the last quarter. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of ConocoPhillips

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 120,251,183 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $11,256,713,000 after purchasing an additional 408,304 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 48,360,060 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $4,527,230,000 after buying an additional 2,714,663 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings 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. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 15,038,675 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $1,407,770,000 after buying an additional 648,432 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,847,367 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $1,389,862,000 after buying an additional 193,401 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is 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.

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