ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Stock Price Expected to Rise, UBS Group Analyst Says

Key Points

• UBS raised its target price on ConocoPhillips from $130 to $144 and kept a "buy" rating, implying roughly a 21.82% upside from the current share price.
• The company missed quarterly expectations, reporting $1.02 EPS vs. $1.23 expected and $13.86 billion in revenue versus $14.35 billion, with revenue down year-over-year.
• CEO Ryan Michael Lance executed a large insider sale of 500,708 shares at about $92.50 in December, cutting his ownership by 60.57% (insiders now hold 0.24% of the stock).

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) had its target price lifted by analysts at UBS Group from $130.00 to $144.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the energy producer's stock. UBS Group's target price would suggest a potential upside of 21.82% from the company's current price.

COP has been the topic of several other reports. Johnson Rice lowered shares of ConocoPhillips from an "accumulate" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $108.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Friday, December 5th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Wolfe Research upped their target price on ConocoPhillips from $122.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $117.00 to $108.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Argus upped their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $111.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $117.54.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE COP traded up $2.56 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $118.21. The stock had a trading volume of 396,166 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,954,891. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market cap of $146.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.65, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.27. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $103.20 and a 200-day moving average of $95.85. ConocoPhillips has a fifty-two week low of $79.88 and a fifty-two week high of $122.50.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The energy producer reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.23 by ($0.21). ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 11.90%. The company had revenue of $13.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.98 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ConocoPhillips news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 500,708 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.50, for a total transaction of $46,315,490.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 325,972 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,152,410. The trade was a 60.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of ConocoPhillips

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in ConocoPhillips in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company's stock.

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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