ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 12,880,000 shares, a decrease of 5.7% from the March 15th total of 13,660,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 5,600,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days. Currently, 1.1% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $158.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $173.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $152.00 to $133.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.59.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In related news, SVP Heather G. Hrap sold 4,548 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.55, for a total value of $502,781.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,654 shares in the company, valued at $293,399.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Nicholas G. Olds sold 12,150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.44, for a total transaction of $1,536,246.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,836,161.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Heather G. Hrap sold 4,548 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.55, for a total transaction of $502,781.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $293,399.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 700,775 shares of company stock worth $87,615,169 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of ConocoPhillips

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 27,672,104 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,211,901,000 after acquiring an additional 108,956 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in ConocoPhillips by 24.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 23,712,617 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $2,752,325,000 after purchasing an additional 4,726,952 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in ConocoPhillips by 26.6% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 16,647,723 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,964,432,000 after purchasing an additional 3,497,750 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.2% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 12,486,871 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,495,927,000 after buying an additional 386,276 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,028,061 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,440,962,000 after buying an additional 1,152,907 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Trading Down 0.7 %

ConocoPhillips stock opened at $130.25 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $119.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $116.86. The company has a market capitalization of $153.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.24. ConocoPhillips has a 52 week low of $95.70 and a 52 week high of $135.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The energy producer reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $15.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.47 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 18.71% and a return on equity of 22.08%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.71 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 9.21 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 19th were paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.40%. This is a positive change from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.61%.

ConocoPhillips Company 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, Canada, China, Libya, Malaysia, Norway, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company's portfolio includes unconventional plays in North America; conventional assets in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia; global LNG developments; oil sands assets in Canada; and an inventory of global exploration prospects.