First Trust Advisors LP Raises Stock Position in ConocoPhillips $COP

First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 8.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,754,665 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 218,423 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.23% of ConocoPhillips worth $363,616,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Saturna Capital Corp purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the first quarter worth approximately $1,990,000. Millennium Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the 1st quarter valued at $265,000. Meiji Yasuda America Inc boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Meiji Yasuda America Inc now owns 86,896 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $11,470,000 after purchasing an additional 4,898 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,198,534 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $158,207,000 after purchasing an additional 22,457 shares during the period. Finally, Oslo Pensjonsforsikring AS purchased a new position in ConocoPhillips during the 1st quarter worth $783,000. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of COP opened at $117.40 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $143.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.12. The company’s fifty day moving average is $113.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $113.84. ConocoPhillips has a 1 year low of $85.57 and a 1 year high of $135.87.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The energy producer reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.17. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 12.10% and a return on equity of 11.39%. The company had revenue of $15.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.09 EPS. ConocoPhillips’s quarterly revenue was down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 9.2 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is 57.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on COP. Roth Capital upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $124.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Freedom Capital downgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $130.00 price target on ConocoPhillips in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Mizuho dropped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $150.00 to $146.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $138.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $134.16.

ConocoPhillips Profile

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is a Houston-based international energy company focused on exploration and production of oil and natural gas. Formed in 2002 through the merger of Conoco Inc and Phillips Petroleum Company, the firm operates as an independent upstream company that explores for, develops and produces crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids across a portfolio of global assets.

The company’s activities span conventional and unconventional resources and include onshore and offshore operations in multiple regions around the world.