Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Has $1.09 Million Stake in ConocoPhillips $COP

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 42.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,478 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 8,635 shares during the quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $1,086,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of COP. Gries Financial LLC increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 5.3% in the third quarter. Gries Financial LLC now owns 5,991 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $567,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 12.1% in the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 140,829 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $13,321,000 after buying an additional 15,202 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its position in ConocoPhillips by 18.0% in the 3rd quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 8,405 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $795,000 after buying an additional 1,283 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its position in ConocoPhillips by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 545,438 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $51,593,000 after buying an additional 3,135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gateway Investment Advisers LLC raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 410,549 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $38,834,000 after buying an additional 2,452 shares during the period. 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: ConocoPhillips’ CEO Ryan Lance will attend the White House meeting on Venezuela, putting COP in direct discussions about potential access to Venezuelan oil assets and future investment opportunities. Reuters: ConocoPhillips says CEO will attend White House meeting
• Positive Sentiment: President Trump stated oil companies would spend roughly $100 billion to rebuild Venezuela’s energy sector and indicated the U.S. would decide which firms can operate there — a large potential investment pool for participating majors like COP. Trump: Oil companies will spend $100 billion in Venezuela
• Neutral Sentiment: U.S. energy officials say ConocoPhillips and peers are evaluating what role they could play in Venezuela; this is an exploratory phase with no guarantees of contracts or timing. Financial Post: ConocoPhillips and Exxon look at Venezuela role
• Neutral Sentiment: U.S. Treasury commentary suggests the largest oil companies will likely move more cautiously into Venezuela than independents, implying COP may be slower to deploy capital despite big potential opportunities. Reuters: Bessent says largest oil companies likely move slower
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts are trimming targets on COP: Bernstein cut its price target to $98 (from $116), signaling lowered near-term expectations despite keeping an Outperform rating. InsiderMonkey: Bernstein trims price target on ConocoPhillips
• Negative Sentiment: Wolfe Research also lowered its price target, reflecting analyst caution that may pressure the stock until clarity on cash flows or clear commitments emerge. AmericanBankingNews: Wolfe Research Cuts ConocoPhillips Price Target
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that U.S. oil companies want “serious guarantees” from Washington before making large Venezuelan investments highlight legal/regulatory risk that could delay or limit COP’s participation. Reuters: US oil companies say they need guarantees to invest in Venezuela

ConocoPhillips Trading Down 1.3%

NYSE COP opened at $97.44 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $120.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.78, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.32. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $91.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $92.63. ConocoPhillips has a 12 month low of $79.88 and a 12 month high of $106.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The energy producer reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 14.25% and a return on equity of 13.64%. The firm had revenue of $15.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.78 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th were given a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 17th. This is a positive change from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is currently 47.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COP has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wolfe Research reduced their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $131.00 to $126.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Capital One Financial increased their target price on ConocoPhillips from $111.00 to $112.00 in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $122.00 to $117.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 13th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $112.96.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 500,708 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction on Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.50, for a total transaction of $46,315,490.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 325,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,152,410. This trade represents a 60.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director William H. Mcraven acquired 5,768 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $86.68 per share, for a total transaction of $499,970.24. Following the transaction, the director owned 5,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $499,970.24. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Company Profile

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is a Houston-based international energy company focused on exploration and production of oil and natural gas. Formed in 2002 through the merger of Conoco Inc and Phillips Petroleum Company, the firm operates as an independent upstream company that explores for, develops and produces crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids across a portfolio of global assets.

The company’s activities span conventional and unconventional resources and include onshore and offshore operations in multiple regions around the world.