Morgan Stanley Begins Coverage on ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) in a research report report published on Monday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued an overweight rating and a $128.00 target price on the energy producer's stock.

COP has been the subject of several other reports. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on ConocoPhillips from $131.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Mizuho upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $132.00 to $134.00 in a research report on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $139.24.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of COP stock traded down $1.45 on Monday, hitting $99.57. 6,789,285 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,023,339. ConocoPhillips has a 12 month low of $99.43 and a 12 month 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $107.76 and a 200 day moving average of $109.64. The stock has a market cap of $114.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last posted 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 company had revenue of $13.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.97 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 19.53%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.16 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 7.77 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.13%. This is a boost from ConocoPhillips's previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. ConocoPhillips's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.10%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ConocoPhillips

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in COP. State Street Corp raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 19.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 66,928,793 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $7,046,263,000 after buying an additional 10,663,093 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 20.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,161,897 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $3,280,725,000 after purchasing an additional 5,240,016 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 59.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,456,011 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $1,311,369,000 after purchasing an additional 4,656,040 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in ConocoPhillips by 5,422.3% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,587,729 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $482,996,000 after purchasing an additional 4,504,653 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,557,351 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $1,469,163,000 after purchasing an additional 1,506,599 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company's stock.

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.