What to Expect From ConocoPhillips Earnings

By Chris Lange Updated Apr 28, 9:54AM EDT · Published Oct 28, 3:11PM EDT

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ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is scheduled to report its third quarter financial results before the markets open on Thursday. The consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters call for a net loss of $0.38 per share on $8.11 billion in revenue. The same period from the previous year had $1.29 in earnings per share (EPS) on $12.92 billion in revenue.

This company is one of the large independents and has spent the past five years divesting assets. Although it is cash rich, it has somewhat dampened earnings and growth expectations all year long. With oil still looking for a bottom, and the market watching events in the Middle East, many analysts may feel more comfortable with the stock.

Merrill Lynch feels Conoco can accelerate growth from reloaded portfolio depth in the Bakken and Eagle Ford shale plays with visibility on future growth from a newly disclosed sizable position in the Permian Basin. Analysts are cautious but positive on the company’s earnings report, due this week. Solid cuts in unnecessary spending and the possibility of increased sales of non-core assets remain ongoing positives.

The company’s outlook for 2015 now calls for production to rise to the upper end of its growth target of 2% to 3% from continuing operations, excluding Libyan production. For the third quarter Conoco forecasts production of 1.44 to 1.51 million barrels of oil equivalent per day. Cost and expense control is forecast to add $900 million to net cash flow.

Ahead of the earnings report a few analysts weighed in on ConocoPhillips:

Merrill Lynch has a Buy rating and raised its price target to $77 from $74.
Barclays reiterated a Buy rating with a $65 price target.
Cowen has a Market Perform rating and a $57 price target.

So far in 2015, ConocoPhillips has underperformed the market and shares are down 21.4% year to date, while over the past 52-weeks shares are down 21.1%.

Shares of ConocoPhillips were last trading at $53.09, with a consensus analyst price target of $62.23 and a 52-week trading range of $41.10 to $74.68.

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About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.