Headquartered in Houston, Texas, ConocoPhillips (COP) is one of the largest independent exploration and production companies globally. Valued at a market cap of $138.23 billion, ConocoPhillips specializes in the exploration, production, transportation, and marketing of crude oil, bitumen, natural gas, LNG, and natural gas liquids (NGLs). The company's low-risk and cost-effective operations span North America, Asia, Australia, and Europe, including significant involvement in Canada's oil sands and LNG developments.
ConocoPhillips has significantly underperformed the broader market over the last year. The stock has gained 12.7% over this time frame, while the broader S&P 500 Index ($SPX) has rallied nearly 27.1%. In 2024, COP’s shares have risen only 1.4%, lower than SPX’s 10.4% returns on a YTD basis.
Narrowing the focus, COP also underperformed the iShares U.S. Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (IEO). The exchange-traded fund has gained about 20.7% over the past 52 weeks, easily dwarfing COP’s returns during the same period.
On May 2, ConocoPhillips reported its Q1 results, surpassing Wall Street's EPS estimates but missing the revenue consensus. The stock declined 1.7% on the day it released earnings and has maintained a downtrend since then.
For the current fiscal year, ending in December, analysts expect COP’s EPS to grow 3.7% to $9.09 on a diluted basis. The company's earnings surprise history is mixed. It beat the consensus estimate in three of the last four quarters, while missing on one other occasion.
Among the 22 analysts covering COP stock, the consensus rating is a “Strong Buy.” That’s based on 15 “Strong Buy” ratings, one “Moderate Buy,” and six “Holds.”
This configuration has been fairly consistent over the past three months.
On May 15, RBC Capital analyst Scott Hanold maintained a “Buy” rating on ConocoPhillips with a price target of $140.00, which indicates a 19% upside from the current levels.
The mean price target of $142.86 represents a 21.4% premium to COP’s current price levels. The Street-high price target of $160 suggests an upside potential of 36%.
On the date of publication, Rashmi Kumari did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
