ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Short Interest Up 7.2% in October

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 22,810,000 shares, an increase of 7.2% from the September 30th total of 21,270,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 6,580,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.5 days. Approximately 2.0% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on COP. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Barclays increased their target price on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $145.00 to $138.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $140.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.47.

Insider Transactions at ConocoPhillips

In other news, Director Timothy A. Leach sold 55,500 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.11, for a total value of $6,000,105.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 455,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,288,321.99. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ConocoPhillips

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in COP. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 35.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 32,192,580 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $4,097,473,000 after acquiring an additional 8,479,963 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in ConocoPhillips by 9.6% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 21,252,822 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $2,705,059,000 after buying an additional 1,856,085 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in ConocoPhillips by 10,634.2% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,205,666 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $126,933,000 after buying an additional 1,194,434 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in ConocoPhillips by 46.0% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,219,929 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $409,833,000 after buying an additional 1,015,158 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 34.7% during the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,762,431 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $351,602,000 after purchasing an additional 712,062 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Trading Down 1.7 %

ConocoPhillips stock traded down $1.84 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $107.70. 4,910,106 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,896,273. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $108.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $113.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $125.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.21. ConocoPhillips has a 52-week low of $101.29 and a 52-week high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $13.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.97 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 18.18% and a return on equity of 20.81%. The company’s revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.16 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 7.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.90%. This is a boost from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.86%.

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.