Oak Thistle LLC Takes $1.07 Million Position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 10,816 shares of the energy producer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,073,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in ConocoPhillips by 42.7% during 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 during the period. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC increased its position 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 valued at $1,879,000 after purchasing an additional 7,490 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 23.6% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 71,097 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $7,488,000 after buying an additional 13,595 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in ConocoPhillips by 1.9% in 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 buying an additional 46,621 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 5,422.3% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,587,729 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $482,996,000 after buying an additional 4,504,653 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

COP stock opened at $105.45 on Thursday. ConocoPhillips has a 1-year low of $94.23 and a 1-year high of $135.18. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $104.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.56. The company has a market capitalization of $121.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.54, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.19. 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 (NYSE:COP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.10. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 19.53%. The business had revenue of $13.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.16 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 7.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.96%. This is a positive change from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $134.00 to $132.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays boosted their target price on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group cut their target price on ConocoPhillips from $153.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $136.65.

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.