Cedrus LLC Takes Position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Cedrus LLC bought a new position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,976 shares of the energy producer’s stock, valued at approximately $208,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 1st quarter worth about $143,000. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC grew its stake in ConocoPhillips by 23.8% during the first quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 4,397 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $560,000 after buying an additional 846 shares during the period. Cooper Financial Group increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 5.3% in the first quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 2,495 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $318,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 1st quarter valued at $269,000. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 27.5% during the 1st quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 3,734 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $475,000 after acquiring an additional 806 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COP has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com lowered ConocoPhillips from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on ConocoPhillips from $147.00 to $144.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on ConocoPhillips from $147.00 to $132.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $153.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $136.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In other news, Director Timothy A. Leach sold 55,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.11, for a total transaction of $6,000,105.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 455,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,288,321.99. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

ConocoPhillips Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE COP opened at $105.67 on Monday. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $101.29 and a 12-month high of $135.18. The company has a market cap of $122.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $109.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $114.67.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $14.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.96 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 18.18%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.84 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 7.99 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is 25.86%.

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.