ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Short Interest Down 7.8% in December

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) saw a large drop in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 11,990,000 shares, a drop of 7.8% from the December 15th total of 13,000,000 shares. Approximately 0.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 6,600,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.8 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on COP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $120.00 to $123.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Truist Financial boosted 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, January 13th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $136.00.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

COP stock traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $105.76. 8,546,391 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,479,072. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $103.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $107.37. ConocoPhillips has a one year low of $94.23 and a one year high of $135.18. The company has a market cap of $121.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.19.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced 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 net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 19.53%. The company had revenue of $13.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.16 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This is a positive change from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.95%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ConocoPhillips news, Director Arjun N. Murti purchased 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 acquisition, the director now owns 21,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,061,205. This represents a 13.16 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director R A. Walker bought 10,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $97.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,017,120.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 38,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,716,400. The trade was a 37.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ConocoPhillips

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Albion Financial Group UT increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 876.9% in the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 254 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 80.5% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 343 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.