ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Short Interest Update

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) was the target of a large increase in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 14,080,000 shares, an increase of 9.3% from the March 31st total of 12,880,000 shares. Approximately 1.2% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 5,370,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on COP. Susquehanna raised their price target on ConocoPhillips from $133.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Scotiabank raised their price target on ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Raymond James dropped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $137.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Barclays began coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $158.00 price target on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $142.65.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

NYSE COP traded down $3.85 on Tuesday, hitting $126.37. 2,087,079 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,291,120. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $122.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $117.67. ConocoPhillips has a 52-week low of $95.70 and a 52-week high of $135.18. The company has a market capitalization of $148.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The energy producer reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.32. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 22.08% and a net margin of 18.71%. The business had revenue of $15.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.71 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 9.57 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 19th were given a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.47%. This is an increase from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is presently 25.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ConocoPhillips news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 607,000 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.91, for a total value of $76,427,370.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 6,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $853,669.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other ConocoPhillips news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 607,000 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.91, for a total value of $76,427,370.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 6,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $853,669.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nicholas G. Olds sold 12,150 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.44, for a total value of $1,536,246.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,836,161.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 700,775 shares of company stock valued at $87,615,169. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ConocoPhillips

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Avestar Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the third quarter worth about $232,000. Brookstone Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 6.6% in the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 7,509 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $949,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. Busey Trust CO increased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 1.3% in the third quarter. Busey Trust CO now owns 13,763 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,649,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Home Federal Bank of Tennessee increased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2.3% in the third quarter. Home Federal Bank of Tennessee now owns 13,033 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,561,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TriaGen Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the third quarter worth about $3,081,000. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.