Potomac Fund Management Inc. ADV Makes New Investment in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Potomac Fund Management Inc. ADV purchased a new stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 9,209 shares of the energy producer’s stock, valued at approximately $913,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COP. Albion Financial Group UT lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 876.9% in the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 254 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on ConocoPhillips from $131.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Truist Financial upped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $132.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $137.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $132.95.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

ConocoPhillips stock opened at $105.35 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $134.05 billion, a PE ratio of 13.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $98.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $103.31. ConocoPhillips has a 12 month low of $86.81 and a 12 month high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is presently 40.05%.

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.