ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Short Interest Up 7.2% in October

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 22,810,000 shares, a growth of 7.2% from the September 30th total of 21,270,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 6,580,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.5 days. Approximately 2.0% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on COP. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $126.00 target price (down from $139.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays lifted their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $145.00 target price for the company. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.47.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In related news, Director Timothy A. Leach sold 55,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 $49,288,321.99. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 5.6% in the first quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 26,083 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,320,000 after acquiring an additional 1,390 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,021,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 19.1% in the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 28,601 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,640,000 after purchasing an additional 4,578 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 2,634.9% during the 1st quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 124,440 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $15,838,000 after buying an additional 119,890 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC lifted 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 buying an additional 7,490 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ConocoPhillips Trading Down 1.8 %

ConocoPhillips stock traded down $1.93 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $107.61. 5,238,281 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,897,822. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.93, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $108.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $113.17. ConocoPhillips has a 12 month low of $101.29 and a 12 month high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $13.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.97 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 18.18%. ConocoPhillips’s revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.16 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 7.76 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. This is a boost from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.86%.

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.