Denali Advisors LLC Lowers Stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Denali Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 17.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,185 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 6,762 shares during the quarter. Denali Advisors LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $3,093,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COP. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,163,724 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $122,628,000 after buying an additional 52,334 shares in the last quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $200,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 438,032 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $46,116,000 after buying an additional 43,006 shares in the last quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $342,000. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 27.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,325 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $765,000 after buying an additional 1,594 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COP has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $120.00 to $123.00 in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Piper Sandler reduced 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. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $137.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, January 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.47.

ConocoPhillips Trading Down 1.9 %

NYSE COP opened at $96.99 on Wednesday. ConocoPhillips has a 12 month low of $94.23 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 company has a market capitalization of $123.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.18. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $100.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $105.28.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 16.23% and a return on equity of 17.26%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is currently 40.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director R A. Walker bought 10,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $97.80 per share, with a total value 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. The trade was a 37.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arjun N. Murti bought 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $95.87 per share, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.