Wells Fargo & Company Upgrades ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) to Hold

Key Points

• Wells Fargo upgraded ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) to a "hold" rating, while several other firms have issued mixed ratings and price target adjustments.
• ConocoPhillips reported quarterly earnings of $1.42 EPS, surpassing estimates, with a revenue increase of 4.3% year-over-year.
• The company currently holds an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with an average price target of $115.00.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company to a "hold" rating in a report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also commented on COP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on ConocoPhillips from $114.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. UBS Group decreased their target price on ConocoPhillips from $124.00 to $122.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 13th. Roth Capital decreased their target price on ConocoPhillips from $108.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Melius assumed coverage on ConocoPhillips in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $117.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $122.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $115.00.

ConocoPhillips Trading Down 0.4%

COP opened at $86.53 on Thursday. ConocoPhillips has a 52 week low of $79.88 and a 52 week high of $115.38. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $94.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $92.03. The firm has a market cap of $108.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The energy producer reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.06. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 14.60% and a net margin of 15.26%.The business had revenue of $14.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.39 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.98 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of ConocoPhillips

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 159.6% during the first quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 48,800 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $5,125,000 after purchasing an additional 30,000 shares in the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 49.3% during the first quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 801,426 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $83,969,000 after purchasing an additional 264,726 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 17.4% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 154,360 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $13,927,000 after purchasing an additional 22,827 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 17.7% during the first quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 37,361 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $3,924,000 after purchasing an additional 5,627 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 316.6% during the first quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory now owns 10,769 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $1,131,000 after purchasing an additional 8,184 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ConocoPhillips Company Profile

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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