Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Increases Stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 27.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 15,500 shares of the energy producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,296 shares during the quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $1,535,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of COP. World Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 48,332 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $4,793,000 after purchasing an additional 4,404 shares during the last quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,851 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $902,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. Disciplined Investors L.L.C. purchased a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the fourth quarter valued at about $218,000. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC now owns 10,673 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,086,000 after acquiring an additional 699 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OneAscent Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 41.4% in the 4th quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 3,126 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 915 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Trading Down 10.2 %

COP opened at $95.27 on Friday. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $86.81 and a 12-month high of $135.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.22 billion, a PE ratio of 12.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.12. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $98.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $103.27.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 16.23% and a return on equity of 17.26%. As a group, research analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on COP shares. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $132.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $127.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $131.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $132.95.

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.