Morgan Stanley Lowers ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Price Target to $122.00

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley has decreased its price target for ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $122.00, while maintaining an "overweight" rating which indicates a potential upside of 37.76% from the current stock price.
• Other brokerages have issued varying price targets for ConocoPhillips, with some lowering their expectations and a consensus average target price of $117.13.
• Despite recent price target adjustments, ConocoPhillips has a strong institutional backing with 82.36% of its stock held by hedge funds and institutional investors.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) had its target price decreased by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $123.00 to $122.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the energy producer's stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 37.76% from the company's current price.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on COP. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $115.00 to $111.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 6th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $115.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group reduced their price target on ConocoPhillips from $124.00 to $122.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $114.00 to $113.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on ConocoPhillips from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $117.13.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE COP traded down $0.22 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $88.56. 1,342,455 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,773,179. ConocoPhillips has a 52-week low of $79.88 and a 52-week high of $115.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The company has a 50-day moving average of $94.52 and a 200-day moving average of $92.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $110.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.62.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The energy producer reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $14.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.39 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 14.60% and a net margin of 15.26%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.98 EPS. Analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3,079.8% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 176,033 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $16,651,000 after purchasing an additional 170,497 shares during the last quarter. Abner Herrman & Brock LLC bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the third quarter worth approximately $389,000. AA Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in ConocoPhillips by 4.5% in the third quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC now owns 11,924 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $1,128,000 after acquiring an additional 518 shares in the last quarter. Hutchinson Financial Advisors INC boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hutchinson Financial Advisors INC now owns 16,778 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $1,587,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the period. Finally, PFW Advisors LLC bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the 3rd quarter valued at $256,000. 82.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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