ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 12,880,000 shares, a decrease of 5.7% from the March 15th total of 13,660,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 5,600,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days. Currently, 1.1% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on COP shares. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $173.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 5th. UBS Group boosted their target price on ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Barclays initiated coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $158.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $141.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.59.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In other news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 607,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.91, for a total transaction of $76,427,370.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 6,780 shares in the company, valued at approximately $853,669.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO William L. Jr. Bullock sold 45,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.32, for a total value of $5,574,064.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 44,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,444,947.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 607,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.91, for a total value of $76,427,370.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 6,780 shares in the company, valued at $853,669.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 700,775 shares of company stock valued at $87,615,169. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ConocoPhillips

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in COP. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in ConocoPhillips by 98,832.5% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,584,373 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,012,956,000 after purchasing an additional 8,575,696 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 24.9% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 23,712,617 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $2,752,325,000 after buying an additional 4,726,952 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 26.6% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 16,647,723 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,964,432,000 after buying an additional 3,497,750 shares during the period. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its position in ConocoPhillips by 512.8% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 3,737,026 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $433,757,000 after acquiring an additional 3,127,165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $310,102,000. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of ConocoPhillips stock opened at $128.31 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.43. ConocoPhillips has a 52-week low of $95.70 and a 52-week high of $135.18. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $119.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $117.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $150.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.24.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The energy producer reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $15.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.47 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 18.71% and a return on equity of 22.08%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.71 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 9.35 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 19th were issued a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.43%. This is a boost from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.61%.

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.