Invenomic Capital Management LP Takes Position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Invenomic Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 92,840 shares of the energy producer’s stock, valued at approximately $9,774,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 59.7% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,456,011 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,311,369,000 after purchasing an additional 4,656,040 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 5,422.3% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,587,729 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $482,996,000 after purchasing an additional 4,504,653 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its position in ConocoPhillips by 48.9% during the third quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 4,320,905 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $454,905,000 after buying an additional 1,418,900 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 10,634.2% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,205,666 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $126,933,000 after purchasing an additional 1,194,434 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its position in ConocoPhillips by 19.3% in the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,811,289 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $717,093,000 after purchasing an additional 1,101,685 shares during the period. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on COP shares. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $126.00 price objective (down from $139.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $153.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.63.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

NYSE:COP opened at $106.90 on Tuesday. ConocoPhillips has a 52-week low of $101.29 and a 52-week high of $135.18. The company has a market cap of $123.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.62, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.18. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $108.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $110.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.30.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $13.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.97 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 17.29%. ConocoPhillips’s quarterly revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.16 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 7.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. This is a positive change from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is presently 37.10%.

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.