Piper Sandler Increases ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Price Target to $154.00

Key Points

• Piper Sandler raised its price target on ConocoPhillips to $154 (from $111) and kept an "overweight" rating, implying about a 27.93% upside from the current price.
• Shares traded up to $120.37 (up 2.9%) after the note; the analyst consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with a consensus target of $119.33 and ratings ranging from Strong Buy to Sell.
• ConocoPhillips missed last-quarter estimates—$1.02 EPS vs. $1.23 expected and $13.86B revenue vs. $14.35B expected—and insiders have sold roughly 549,208 shares (about $52M) in the past 90 days.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) had its target price upped by equities research analysts at Piper Sandler from $111.00 to $154.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "overweight" rating on the energy producer's stock. Piper Sandler's price target indicates a potential upside of 27.93% from the company's current price.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Argus lifted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $111.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Zacks Research cut shares of ConocoPhillips from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Capital One Financial increased their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $111.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $119.33.

ConocoPhillips Stock Up 2.9%

Shares of ConocoPhillips stock traded up $3.34 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $120.37. The company had a trading volume of 4,889,023 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,324,334. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company's 50-day moving average is $105.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $96.61. The company has a market cap of $148.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.27. ConocoPhillips has a twelve month low of $79.88 and a twelve month high of $122.50.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The energy producer reported $1.02 earnings per share 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 analysts' expectations of $14.35 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 11.90%. ConocoPhillips's revenue was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.98 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Timothy A. Leach sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.79, for a total transaction of $4,751,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 411,211 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $48,847,754.69. This represents a 8.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kelly Brunetti Rose sold 8,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.04, for a total value of $1,003,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 32,984 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,893,431.36. This represents a 20.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 549,208 shares of company stock worth $52,070,430. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of ConocoPhillips

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the third quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. 82.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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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