Values First Advisors Inc. Acquires New Position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 250 shares of the energy producer’s stock, valued at approximately $26,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of COP. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 35.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 32,192,580 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $4,097,473,000 after buying an additional 8,479,963 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in ConocoPhillips by 9.6% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 21,252,822 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $2,705,059,000 after acquiring an additional 1,856,085 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 10,634.2% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,205,666 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $126,933,000 after acquiring an additional 1,194,434 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in ConocoPhillips by 46.0% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,219,929 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $409,833,000 after acquiring an additional 1,015,158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 34.7% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,762,431 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $351,602,000 after purchasing an additional 712,062 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In other news, Director Timothy A. Leach sold 55,500 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.11, for a total value of $6,000,105.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

NYSE:COP opened at $104.53 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.33. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $108.60 and its 200-day moving average is $114.14. ConocoPhillips has a 52-week low of $101.29 and a 52-week high of $135.18. The company has a market cap of $122.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.84, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.21.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $14.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.96 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 18.18% and a return on equity of 20.81%. The business’s revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $147.00 to $144.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on ConocoPhillips from $147.00 to $132.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, September 13th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $136.94.

ConocoPhillips 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.