ConocoPhillips $COP Shares Purchased by Atwood & Palmer Inc.

Atwood & Palmer Inc. grew its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 723.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,535 shares of the energy producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,863 shares during the period. Atwood & Palmer Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $693,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Artemis Investment Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the third quarter valued at approximately $117,411,000. Aletheian Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in ConocoPhillips in the 3rd quarter valued at $232,000. Titleist Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 34.9% in the 3rd quarter. Titleist Asset Management LLC now owns 4,488 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $562,000 after buying an additional 1,161 shares during the period. Apella Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 83.4% in the 3rd quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 19,966 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $2,499,000 after buying an additional 9,078 shares during the period. Finally, Everhart Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 70.6% during the third quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,405 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,928,000 after acquiring an additional 6,377 shares during the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 3.4%

NYSE COP traded up $4.40 during trading on Thursday, reaching $134.24. 6,070,845 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,134,886. ConocoPhillips has a fifty-two week low of $85.57 and a fifty-two week high of $141.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market cap of $161.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.24. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $129.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $121.91.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The energy producer reported $3.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.34. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 14.22% and a return on equity of 14.72%. The company had revenue of $19.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.79 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.42 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 32.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 10.62 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

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

Key Stories Impacting ConocoPhillips

Here are the key news stories impacting ConocoPhillips this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Oil prices rose on supply concerns. Crude prices gained amid worries about Middle East shipping routes and a larger-than-expected decline in U.S. crude inventories. A stronger commodity backdrop typically supports ConocoPhillips’ realized prices, cash flow and earnings. ConocoPhillips gains as oil prices jump on supply fears
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded COP to “Strong Buy.” The upgrade reflects ConocoPhillips’ earnings-surprise history and what Zacks describes as favorable conditions for another quarterly earnings beat. The company’s latest reported quarter exceeded both earnings and revenue expectations, while full-year guidance was reaffirmed. Will ConocoPhillips Beat Estimates Again in Its Next Earnings Report?
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional interest provided additional support. Worth Asset Management initiated a position, while recent filings showed share additions by several large investors, including JPMorgan, BlackRock, T. Rowe Price and Charles Schwab Investment Management. Analysts tracked by Quiver Quantitative have issued buy or overweight ratings, with a reported median price target of $143.
• Positive Sentiment: Long-term LNG exposure remains a potential catalyst. ConocoPhillips agreed to purchase 1 million metric tons of LNG annually from Venture Global beginning in 2030 under a 20-year agreement. The deal expands its long-term natural-gas exposure, although the financial benefit is several years away. ConocoPhillips Could Be 11% Undervalued Following New 20 Year LNG Deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider activity was mixed for investors. Three insiders sold shares during the past six months, with no reported open-market purchases. These sales may raise a modest caution flag, but they do not necessarily indicate a change in the company’s operating outlook.

Insider Transactions at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, SVP Andrew Lundquist sold 9,487 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.15, for a total value of $1,282,168.05. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 9,593 shares in the company, valued at $1,296,493.95. This represents a 49.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on COP shares. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $138.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $168.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Seaport Research Partners began coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Roth Capital raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $124.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $143.29.

About ConocoPhillips

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.