ConocoPhillips $COP Stock Purchased by Cardinal Capital Management

Cardinal Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 96,175 shares of the energy producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,163 shares during the period. ConocoPhillips comprises 1.4% of Cardinal Capital Management’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Cardinal Capital Management’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $12,036,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Venture Visionary Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 263.6% during the third quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 118,655 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $14,850,000 after acquiring an additional 86,019 shares in the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group raised its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 55.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 11,635 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,456,000 after purchasing an additional 4,172 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $6,896,000. Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,645,000. Finally, Cetera Trust Company N.A acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $870,000. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Argus boosted their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $136.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $159.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $151.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Thursday, September 10th. They set a “hold” rating and a $148.00 price objective on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.00.

ConocoPhillips Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of COP stock opened at $145.77 on Thursday. ConocoPhillips has a fifty-two week low of $85.57 and a fifty-two week high of $147.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $175.12 billion, a PE ratio of 19.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.54. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $133.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $122.69.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The energy producer reported $3.24 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.34. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 14.72% and a net margin of 14.22%. The firm had revenue of $19.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.42 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 32.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th were issued a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. 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 that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.15, for a total transaction of $1,282,168.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 9,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,296,493.95. This trade represents a 49.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Company Profile

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.