Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,474,270 shares of the energy producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 32,948 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.13% of ConocoPhillips worth $155,211,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in COP. LRI Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 587.7% during the 2nd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 3,122 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $357,000 after buying an additional 2,668 shares during the last quarter. Capital Insight Partners LLC raised its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2.5% in the second quarter. Capital Insight Partners LLC now owns 5,592 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $640,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp grew its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 53.3% during the 2nd quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 48,216 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $5,515,000 after acquiring an additional 16,755 shares during the period. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 14.1% in the 2nd quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 135,800 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $15,533,000 after purchasing an additional 16,800 shares during the period. Finally, Banque Pictet & Cie SA raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 39.6% during the 2nd quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA now owns 11,450 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,310,000 after buying an additional 3,250 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of NYSE COP opened at $95.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The company has a market cap of $109.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.18. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $106.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $109.22. ConocoPhillips has a 1-year low of $95.10 and a 1-year high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released 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. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 19.53%. The firm had revenue of $13.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.16 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 7.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is 37.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other ConocoPhillips news, Director R A. Walker bought 10,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $97.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,017,120.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 38,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,716,400. This trade represents a 37.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on COP. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Mizuho raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $132.00 to $134.00 in a research note on Monday. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research note on Monday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 price target on the stock. Two research 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 has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $136.71.

ConocoPhillips Company 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.