Cadent Capital Advisors LLC Increases Stock Holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Cadent Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 21.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,242 shares of the energy producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 746 shares during the period. Cadent Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $421,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 42.7% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 103,553 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $10,902,000 after purchasing an additional 31,011 shares in the last quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 83.8% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 23.6% during the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 71,097 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $7,488,000 after purchasing an additional 13,595 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 1.9% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,489,514 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $262,094,000 after acquiring an additional 46,621 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 5,422.3% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,587,729 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $482,996,000 after purchasing an additional 4,504,653 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of ConocoPhillips stock traded up $1.97 on Monday, hitting $103.89. 4,159,716 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,426,319. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $119.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.19. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $104.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $107.70. ConocoPhillips has a 52 week low of $94.23 and a 52 week high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.10. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 17.29%. The business had revenue of $13.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.16 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 7.77 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. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were given a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This is an increase from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.00%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.10%.

Insider Activity

In other ConocoPhillips news, Director R A. Walker bought 10,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $97.80 per share, with a total value of $1,017,120.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 38,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,716,400. This trade represents a 37.68 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arjun N. Murti purchased 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $95.87 per share, for a total transaction of $239,675.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 21,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,061,205. This trade represents a 13.16 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, December 6th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 target price on the stock. Scotiabank reduced their target price on ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $136.76.

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.