ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Price Target Raised to $160.00

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group lifted its price target on ConocoPhillips to $160 from $129 and keeps a "buy" rating, implying roughly a 28% upside versus the stock's prior close and above the MarketBeat consensus target of $129.24 ("Moderate Buy").
• ConocoPhillips missed quarterly expectations with EPS of $1.02 vs. $1.23 est. and revenue down 3.7% YoY, though the shares trade around $125 with a market cap near $152 billion and a P/E of about 19.7.
• Insiders have been significant net sellers recently — CEO Ryan Lance sold 113,221 shares (~$15.0M) and insiders disposed of roughly 734,891 shares (~$93.3M) over the last 90 days, leaving insiders owning just 0.09% of the company.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) had its price target hoisted by equities researchers at Jefferies Financial Group from $129.00 to $160.00 in a research note issued on Monday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the energy producer's stock. Jefferies Financial Group's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 27.92% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised ConocoPhillips from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on ConocoPhillips from $116.00 to $98.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Zacks Research raised ConocoPhillips from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $98.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on ConocoPhillips from $132.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $129.24.

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of COP opened at $125.08 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $118.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $101.66. The company has a market capitalization of $152.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.19. ConocoPhillips has a one year low of $84.28 and a one year high of $135.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.30.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The energy producer reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.23 by ($0.21). The company had revenue of $13.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.35 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 11.90%. The business's revenue was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.98 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other ConocoPhillips news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 113,221 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.71, for a total value of $15,025,558.91. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 350,000 shares in the company, valued at $46,448,500. This represents a 24.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Andrew D. Lundquist sold 34,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.68, for a total value of $4,128,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 17,469 shares in the company, valued at $2,090,689.92. This represents a 66.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 734,891 shares of company stock valued at $93,345,692 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of ConocoPhillips

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 0.3% in 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 fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 48,360,060 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $4,527,230,000 after acquiring an additional 2,714,663 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 41,450,162 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $3,880,151,000 after acquiring an additional 2,350,645 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 15,038,675 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $1,407,770,000 after purchasing an additional 648,432 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,847,367 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $1,389,862,000 after purchasing an additional 193,401 shares during the period. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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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