ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Stock Position Lowered by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC lessened its position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 5.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,091,766 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 58,417 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $115,173,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vicus Capital raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Vicus Capital now owns 2,637 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $302,000 after buying an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 3,900 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $446,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Excalibur Management Corp raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Excalibur Management Corp now owns 4,037 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $462,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Capital Group raised its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 0.5% during the third quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 18,790 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,978,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, Bank OZK raised its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 1.6% during the second quarter. Bank OZK now owns 6,251 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $715,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Mizuho boosted their target price on ConocoPhillips from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $126.00 target price (down from $139.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Truist Financial cut their target price on ConocoPhillips from $145.00 to $138.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.63.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE COP opened at $106.05 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $108.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $110.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.16. ConocoPhillips has a one year low of $101.29 and a one year high of $135.18. The company has a market capitalization of $122.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.10. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 17.29%. The firm had revenue of $13.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.16 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 7.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.94%. This is a boost from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is currently 37.10%.

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.