Covington Investment Advisors Inc. Buys 1,475 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Covington Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 1.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 109,308 shares of the energy producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,475 shares during the quarter. ConocoPhillips accounts for about 1.7% of Covington Investment Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Covington Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $11,508,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,021,000. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 83.8% in the second quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 16,427 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,879,000 after acquiring an additional 7,490 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc increased its position in ConocoPhillips by 23.6% during the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 71,097 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $7,488,000 after acquiring an additional 13,595 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 5,422.3% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,587,729 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $482,996,000 after acquiring an additional 4,504,653 shares during the period. Finally, TCW Group Inc. lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 37.8% in the second quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 30,026 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $3,434,000 after acquiring an additional 8,231 shares during the period. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on COP. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $126.00 price objective (down previously from $139.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Mizuho upped their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on ConocoPhillips from $153.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Six equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.63.

ConocoPhillips Stock Down 5.1 %

Shares of COP opened at $106.03 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $108.92 and its 200 day moving average is $111.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $101.29 and a 12-month high of $135.18. The company has a market capitalization of $122.03 billion, a PE ratio of 12.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.21.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $13.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.97 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 19.53%. ConocoPhillips’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.16 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 7.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be issued a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. This is a boost from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is 37.10%.

About ConocoPhillips

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.