Versant Capital Management Inc Decreases Stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Versant Capital Management Inc reduced its holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 26.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 387 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 137 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $40,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of COP. Arosa Capital Management LP increased its position in ConocoPhillips by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Arosa Capital Management LP now owns 124,050 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $14,638,000 after purchasing an additional 4,050 shares during the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its position in ConocoPhillips by 168.6% during the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,613 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,961,000 after purchasing an additional 10,429 shares during the last quarter. Royal Fund Management LLC increased its position in ConocoPhillips by 24.8% during the first quarter. Royal Fund Management LLC now owns 9,272 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $920,000 after purchasing an additional 1,843 shares during the last quarter. One Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the first quarter worth about $270,000. Finally, Herold Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the first quarter worth about $213,000. 80.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on COP shares. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $127.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 16th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $145.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 12th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $124.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Wednesday, July 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $134.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 4th. Finally, Raymond James dropped their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $142.00 to $138.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $134.42.

ConocoPhillips Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of ConocoPhillips stock opened at $123.57 on Friday. ConocoPhillips has a 52-week low of $91.53 and a 52-week high of $138.49. The company has a 50 day moving average of $116.22 and a 200 day moving average of $107.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market capitalization of $147.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.30.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The energy producer reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by ($0.10). ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 27.27% and a net margin of 18.66%. The firm had revenue of $12.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.91 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 28th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 27th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.65%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.65%.

Insider Transactions at ConocoPhillips

In other news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 569,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.14, for a total transaction of $69,546,516.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 18,187 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,221,360.18. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Profile

ConocoPhillips explores for, produces, transports, and markets crude oil, bitumen, natural gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and natural gas liquids in the United States and internationally. The company's portfolio includes unconventional plays in North America; conventional assets in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia; various LNG developments; oil sands assets in Canada; and an inventory of global exploration prospects.