ConocoPhillips $COP Stock: Foundation Resource Management Inc. Lowers Stake

Foundation Resource Management Inc. reduced its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 1.9% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 281,173 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 5,557 shares during the period. ConocoPhillips makes up about 2.9% of Foundation Resource Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Foundation Resource Management Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $35,189,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in ConocoPhillips by 151.0% during the 1st quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 241 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management bought a new position in ConocoPhillips during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Ballast Advisors LLC bought a new position in ConocoPhillips during the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Evergreen Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Allied Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on COP shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $159.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $155.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $143.62.

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

In other news, SVP Andrew Lundquist sold 9,487 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.15, for a total transaction of $1,282,168.05. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 9,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,296,493.95. This trade represents a 49.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

ConocoPhillips Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE COP traded down $1.17 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $145.34. 4,342,119 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,054,775. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $132.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $122.37. ConocoPhillips has a 1-year low of $85.57 and a 1-year high of $146.70. The firm has a market cap of $174.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.22, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The energy producer reported $3.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.34. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 14.72% and a net margin of 14.22%. The business had revenue of $19.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 32.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 11.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th were issued a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.44%.

ConocoPhillips Company Profile

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) is an independent exploration and production company engaged in finding, developing and producing oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Unlike integrated energy companies, it primarily focuses on upstream activities rather than operating large refining or retail fuel businesses.

The company’s portfolio includes conventional and unconventional oil and natural gas assets, liquefied natural gas-related interests, oil sands operations and other energy resources.