ConocoPhillips to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.78 (NYSE:COP)

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 6th,RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th will be given a dividend of 0.78 per share by the energy producer on Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th.

ConocoPhillips has raised its dividend payment by an average of 12.9% per year over the last three years. ConocoPhillips has a dividend payout ratio of 34.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect ConocoPhillips to earn $8.94 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.12 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 34.9%.

ConocoPhillips Trading Down 1.6 %

ConocoPhillips stock opened at $98.34 on Friday. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $94.23 and a 12-month high of $135.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $101.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $106.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $113.18 billion, a PE ratio of 12.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 16.23% and a return on equity of 17.26%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

In related news, Director R A. Walker acquired 10,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $97.80 per share, with a total value of $1,017,120.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 38,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,716,400. This trade represents a 37.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Arjun N. Murti purchased 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $95.87 per share, for a total transaction of $239,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,061,205. This trade represents a 13.16 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on COP. Mizuho raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $132.00 to $134.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective 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, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $135.89.

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.