By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP – Get Free Report) was the target of a significant 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. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 6,600,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.8 days. Approximately 0.9% of the shares of the company are short sold.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on ConocoPhillips from $134.00 to $132.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley started coverage on ConocoPhillips in a report on Monday, December 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 price objective on the stock. Susquehanna lifted their target price on ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $120.00 to $123.00 in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Mizuho raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $132.00 to $134.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Two equities 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $136.00.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on COP
ConocoPhillips Price Performance
Shares of ConocoPhillips stock traded up $0.15 during trading on Friday, hitting $105.76. 8,546,391 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,479,072. The stock has a market cap of $121.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.58, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. ConocoPhillips has a 52 week low of $94.23 and a 52 week high of $135.18. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $103.79 and its 200-day moving average is $107.47.
ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $13.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.97 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 19.53%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.16 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.
ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were given a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.95%. This is a positive change from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.10%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other ConocoPhillips news, Director Arjun N. Murti bought 2,500 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $95.87 per share, for a total transaction of $239,675.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 21,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,061,205. This trade represents a 13.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director R A. Walker purchased 10,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 38,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,716,400. This trade represents 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 corporate insiders.
Institutional Trading of ConocoPhillips
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 444.8% in the 2nd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 13,484 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,542,000 after buying an additional 11,009 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 168.3% in the second quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 12,638 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,446,000 after acquiring an additional 7,928 shares during the period. ProVise Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 10.2% in the second quarter. ProVise Management Group LLC now owns 50,288 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $5,752,000 after acquiring an additional 4,655 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in ConocoPhillips by 72.3% during the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 111,852 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $12,794,000 after purchasing an additional 46,942 shares during the period. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,990 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,715,000 after purchasing an additional 1,275 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.
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.
Read More
Receive News & Ratings for ConocoPhillips Daily – Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts’ ratings for ConocoPhillips and related companies with MarketBeat.com’s FREE daily email newsletter.