ConocoPhillips $COP Stock: HF Advisory Group LLC Increases Position

HF Advisory Group LLC raised its position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 17.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 26,494 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 4,010 shares during the period. HF Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $3,487,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 73.2% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 118,591,447 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $12,328,767,000 after acquiring an additional 50,116,727 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 93,886,457 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $9,760,436,000 after purchasing an additional 2,712,703 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 12.0% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,072,154 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,566,901,000 after purchasing an additional 1,609,759 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in ConocoPhillips by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 13,413,036 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,255,594,000 after purchasing an additional 290,888 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,260,482,000. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Key ConocoPhillips News

Here are the key news stories impacting ConocoPhillips this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Higher oil prices and supply concerns: Crude prices rose after a tanker attack disrupted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, while hurricane-related shutdowns reduced Gulf of Mexico production. A larger-than-expected decline in U.S. inventories further tightened the market, improving the earnings and cash-flow outlook for upstream producers such as COP. ConocoPhillips gains as oil prices jump on supply fears
• Positive Sentiment: Potential $7 billion asset transaction: ConocoPhillips is evaluating an unsolicited offer for certain assets. Although the company has not committed to a sale, a transaction of that size could unlock value, strengthen the balance sheet, or fund shareholder returns if completed. With Oil Over $100 and a $7 Billion Offer on the Table
• Positive Sentiment: Constructive earnings expectations: Zacks upgraded COP from “hold” to “strong-buy,” citing its history of earnings surprises and favorable conditions for another beat. The company’s latest report exceeded consensus EPS and revenue estimates, reaffirmed full-year guidance, and highlighted strong operating cash flow and increased share repurchases. Will ConocoPhillips Beat Estimates Again?
• Positive Sentiment: Firm demand outlook: Coverage points to resilient crude and LNG demand, while several analysts maintain favorable ratings and price targets above the recent trading level. ConocoPhillips Stays in Focus as Crude and LNG Demand Firm
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed institutional positioning: Some major institutions increased their COP holdings, but others reduced exposure, suggesting broad investor interest without a uniform conviction signal.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Three insiders sold shares during the past six months and no open-market purchases were reported. The sales may modestly temper sentiment, although they do not necessarily indicate a change in the company’s fundamentals.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on COP shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $159.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Argus boosted their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $136.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $155.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Roth Capital raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $124.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research raised ConocoPhillips from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $143.29.

ConocoPhillips Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE COP opened at $134.12 on Friday. ConocoPhillips has a one year low of $85.57 and a one year high of $141.62. The company has a market cap of $161.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.24. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $129.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $122.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.54.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The energy producer reported $3.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.34. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 14.72% and a net margin of 14.22%. The company had revenue of $19.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.42 EPS. ConocoPhillips’s revenue was up 32.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 10.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th were paid a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.44%.

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

In related news, SVP Andrew Lundquist sold 9,487 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 9,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,296,493.95. This represents a 49.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Profile

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

The company has a diversified portfolio of assets in major producing regions, including the United States, Canada, Australia, Norway and Qatar. Its U.S. operations include oil and gas developments in Alaska and the Lower 48 states, while its international portfolio includes conventional and offshore projects.