North Dakota State Investment Board Buys 4,668 Shares of ConocoPhillips $COP

North Dakota State Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 12.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,462 shares of the energy producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,668 shares during the quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $5,189,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COP. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the third quarter worth $28,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 151.0% during the 1st quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 241 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the period. William Mack & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Ballast Advisors LLC acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Evergreen Advisors LLC acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting ConocoPhillips this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Technical momentum improved: COP reclaimed its 50-day moving average, a signal that technical analysts view as supportive of a short-term bullish trend. ConocoPhillips Just Reclaimed the 50-Day Moving Average
• Positive Sentiment: Oil-sector tailwinds remain favorable: ConocoPhillips and other major producers have benefited from elevated crude prices, partly linked to geopolitical tensions. The company recently reached a fresh 52-week high, reinforcing the stock’s momentum. ConocoPhillips Reaches a Fresh 52-Week High
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst view is cautious but not bearish: Piper Sandler initiated coverage with a “neutral” rating and a $157 price target, implying modest additional upside. The average target cited elsewhere is $145, below recent trading levels, suggesting valuation may already reflect much of the favorable outlook. Piper Sandler ConocoPhillips Rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Momentum has been strong but volatile: COP gained 2.93% over the prior week before declining during the latest completed session, indicating continued sensitivity to broader market and energy-price movements. ConocoPhillips Weekly Momentum
• Negative Sentiment: Canadian workforce reductions add execution and sentiment risk: ConocoPhillips plans another round of Canadian job cuts as it restructures regional operations and aligns staffing with project priorities. The move may reduce costs, but it also highlights portfolio pressures and potential employee-relations risks. ConocoPhillips Plans Job Cuts in Canada

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on COP. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. Zacks Research raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on ConocoPhillips from $151.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler assumed coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $157.00 price objective on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $145.00.

ConocoPhillips Stock Up 0.7%

COP opened at $148.95 on Thursday. ConocoPhillips has a 1-year low of $85.57 and a 1-year high of $152.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $178.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.24. The business has a 50 day moving average of $135.37 and a 200-day moving average of $120.50.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The energy producer reported $3.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.34. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 14.22% and a return on equity of 14.72%. The business had revenue of $19.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.42 earnings per share. ConocoPhillips’s quarterly revenue was up 32.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 11.42 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th were issued a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is 44.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ConocoPhillips news, SVP Andrew Lundquist sold 9,487 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.15, for a total value of $1,282,168.05. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 9,593 shares in the company, valued at $1,296,493.95. This trade represents a 49.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About ConocoPhillips

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) is an independent exploration and production company engaged in finding, developing and producing oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Unlike integrated energy companies, it primarily focuses on upstream activities rather than operating large refining or retail fuel businesses.

The company’s portfolio includes conventional and unconventional oil and natural gas assets, liquefied natural gas-related interests, oil sands operations and other energy resources.