Morgan Stanley Initiates Coverage on ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Research analysts at Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) in a report released on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The firm set an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 price target on the energy producer’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 26.71% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Susquehanna raised their price target on ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group dropped their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $153.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $120.00 to $123.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $139.24.

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE COP opened at $101.02 on Monday. ConocoPhillips has a one year low of $100.58 and a one year high of $135.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market cap of $116.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.18. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $107.76 and its 200-day moving average is $109.64.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $13.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.97 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 19.53%. The business’s revenue was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.16 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 7.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ConocoPhillips

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 42.7% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 103,553 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $10,902,000 after purchasing an additional 31,011 shares in the last quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 83.8% during the second quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 16,427 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,879,000 after purchasing an additional 7,490 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 23.6% during the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 71,097 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $7,488,000 after acquiring an additional 13,595 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,489,514 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $262,094,000 after purchasing an additional 46,621 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in ConocoPhillips by 5,422.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,587,729 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $482,996,000 after acquiring an additional 4,504,653 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by 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.