ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.20 EPS

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) issued its earnings results on Thursday. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.20, Zacks reports. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 19.53%.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of COP stock traded down $0.28 on Thursday, reaching $99.93. 8,517,449 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,788,718. The company has a market cap of $115.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.88, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.18. ConocoPhillips has a 1 year low of $94.23 and a 1 year high of $135.18. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $101.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $106.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.30.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be given a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.12%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on COP shares. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $148.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Mizuho raised ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $132.00 to $134.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $135.89.

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.