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ConocoPhillips (COP) Ascends While Market Falls: Some Facts to Note

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The latest trading session saw ConocoPhillips (COP - Free Report) ending at $119.78, denoting a +1.9% adjustment from its last day's close. The stock exceeded the S&P 500, which registered a loss of 0.29% for the day. Elsewhere, the Dow saw a downswing of 0.35%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq depreciated by 0.3%.

Coming into today, shares of the energy company had gained 6.75% in the past month. In that same time, the Oils-Energy sector gained 6.58%, while the S&P 500 gained 4.42%.

Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of ConocoPhillips in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $2.07, signifying a 13.03% drop compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Meanwhile, the latest consensus estimate predicts the revenue to be $14.75 billion, indicating a 4.92% decrease compared to the same quarter of the previous year.

Looking at the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $8.82 per share and revenue of $60.4 billion. These totals would mark changes of +0.57% and +3.12%, respectively, from last year.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for ConocoPhillips should also be noted by investors. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.

Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.

The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 2.29% lower. ConocoPhillips is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Valuation is also important, so investors should note that ConocoPhillips has a Forward P/E ratio of 13.33 right now. This denotes a discount relative to the industry's average Forward P/E of 14.26.

Investors should also note that COP has a PEG ratio of 0.73 right now. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. As of the close of trade yesterday, the Oil and Gas - Integrated - United States industry held an average PEG ratio of 1.47.

The Oil and Gas - Integrated - United States industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 150, which puts it in the bottom 41% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Keep in mind to rely on Zacks.com to watch all these stock-impacting metrics, and more, in the succeeding trading sessions.


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