ConocoPhillips $COP Stock: VestGen Advisors LLC Cuts Position

VestGen Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 24.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,783 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 3,469 shares during the period. VestGen Advisors LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $1,349,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of COP. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 73.2% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 118,591,447 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $12,328,767,000 after purchasing an additional 50,116,727 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 3.0% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 93,886,457 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $9,760,436,000 after buying an additional 2,712,703 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 12.0% in 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 buying an additional 1,609,759 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in ConocoPhillips by 0.7% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,044,489 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,457,978,000 after acquiring an additional 74,261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in ConocoPhillips by 10.8% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 10,181,950 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,344,017,000 after acquiring an additional 995,392 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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—Brent crude was reported near $104 per barrel—are improving the earnings outlook for ConocoPhillips and other exploration and production companies. Analysts also see favorable indicators for a potential third-quarter earnings beat. ConocoPhillips to Report Q3 Earnings: What’s in the Cards?
• Positive Sentiment: ConocoPhillips is being highlighted as a relatively low-beta energy stock that may appeal to investors seeking resilience during market volatility. Its upstream portfolio, growth prospects and investment program are supporting the constructive view. Stay Ahead of Market Uncertainty With BP, XOM, COP and E
• Neutral Sentiment: Several valuation-focused reports describe COP as a strong value stock and emphasize its powerful multiyear performance, while noting that investors must determine whether current earnings can justify the elevated share price. ConocoPhillips Stock Stays Hard To Call On Strong Q2 Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Piper Sandler initiated coverage on ConocoPhillips, potentially increasing analyst attention, although the available report does not provide a rating or price target. Piper Sandler Initiates Coverage on ConocoPhillips
• Negative Sentiment: Technical analysts warn that COP may be overbought after its strong gains, with a relative-strength reading above 70. That raises the risk of profit-taking or a pullback if oil prices or earnings disappoint. Top 3 Energy Stocks You May Want To Dump In Q4
• Negative Sentiment: Reported job cuts in Alberta add a near-term reputational and operational concern, while comparisons with Chevron and EOG Resources highlight uncertainty over how well ConocoPhillips’ dividend would hold up during a major oil-price downturn. ConocoPhillips Cuts Alberta Jobs

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ConocoPhillips news, SVP Andrew Lundquist sold 9,487 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 owned 9,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,296,493.95. The trade was a 49.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on COP. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $130.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $159.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.00.

ConocoPhillips Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of ConocoPhillips stock opened at $154.10 on Friday. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $85.57 and a 12-month high of $154.28. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $136.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $121.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $185.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.38, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.24.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The energy producer reported $3.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $19.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.79 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 14.22% and a return on equity of 14.72%. ConocoPhillips’s revenue for the quarter was up 32.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.42 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 11.42 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.44%.

ConocoPhillips 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.