Morgan Stanley Cuts ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Price Target to $126.00

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) had its price objective reduced by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $131.00 to $126.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the energy producer’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 22.49% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James cut shares of ConocoPhillips from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $157.00 to $124.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $137.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Mizuho raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $132.00 to $134.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Truist Financial raised 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, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $132.95.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of ConocoPhillips stock traded down $0.34 on Thursday, reaching $102.87. 1,549,297 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,416,201. ConocoPhillips has a one year low of $86.81 and a one year high of $135.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market cap of $130.88 billion, a PE ratio of 13.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.12. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $99.08 and its 200-day moving average is $103.31.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 17.26% and a net margin of 16.23%. As a group, analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ConocoPhillips

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 121,826,062 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $12,081,491,000 after acquiring an additional 12,751,120 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 19.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 66,928,793 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $7,046,263,000 after purchasing an additional 10,663,093 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in ConocoPhillips by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 45,847,572 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $4,546,706,000 after purchasing an additional 5,549,078 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 31,287,113 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,101,989,000 after purchasing an additional 1,473,027 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 20.2% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.