ConocoPhillips $COP Stock: Cardinal Capital Management Grows Stake

Cardinal Capital Management increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 4.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 96,175 shares of the energy producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,163 shares during the quarter. ConocoPhillips makes up about 1.4% of Cardinal Capital Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Cardinal Capital Management’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $12,036,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COP. 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. Ballast Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Evergreen Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Allied Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Avalon Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,000. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on COP. Raymond James Financial reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $168.00 price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Monday, August 24th. Seaport Research Partners assumed coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Mizuho lowered their target price on ConocoPhillips from $150.00 to $146.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Barclays lowered their target price on ConocoPhillips from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Argus increased their target price on ConocoPhillips from $136.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.00.

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

In related news, SVP Andrew Lundquist sold 9,487 shares of the business’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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 9,593 shares in the company, valued at $1,296,493.95. The trade was a 49.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of ConocoPhillips stock opened at $145.77 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $175.12 billion, a PE ratio of 19.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.54. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $133.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $122.69. ConocoPhillips has a one year low of $85.57 and a one year high of $147.41.

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

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

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

ConocoPhillips 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.