Avestar Capital LLC Grows Stock Holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Avestar Capital LLC lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,605 shares of the energy producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $1,116,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Covington Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Covington Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 109,308 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $11,508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,475 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2.4% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 130,517 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $13,741,000 after buying an additional 3,060 shares in the last quarter. West Tower Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter valued at about $274,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in ConocoPhillips by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,489,514 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $262,094,000 after acquiring an additional 46,621 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP now owns 33,787 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,557,000 after acquiring an additional 1,183 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Stock Up 0.7 %

COP stock opened at $106.80 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $122.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.70, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.21. ConocoPhillips has a 1-year low of $101.29 and a 1-year high of $135.18. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $108.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $111.01. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $13.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.16 earnings per share. ConocoPhillips’s quarterly revenue was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 7.76 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 an increase from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on COP. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Scotiabank dropped their price target 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 reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $126.00 target price (down from $139.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price target on ConocoPhillips from $145.00 to $138.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.63.

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.