Nicolet Advisory Services LLC Raises Stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Nicolet Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 8,363 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 468 shares during the period. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $940,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of COP. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,021,000. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 83.8% in the second quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 16,427 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,879,000 after purchasing an additional 7,490 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc increased its position in ConocoPhillips by 23.6% during the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 71,097 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $7,488,000 after purchasing an additional 13,595 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 5,422.3% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,587,729 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $482,996,000 after purchasing an additional 4,504,653 shares during the period. Finally, TCW Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 37.8% in the 2nd quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 30,026 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $3,434,000 after purchasing an additional 8,231 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on COP shares. UBS Group dropped their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $153.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $145.00 to $138.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.63.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of NYSE COP opened at $111.75 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. ConocoPhillips has a fifty-two week low of $101.29 and a fifty-two week high of $135.18. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $108.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $111.40. The firm has a market cap of $128.61 billion, a PE ratio of 13.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.21.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.10. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 19.53%. The business had revenue of $13.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.16 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be issued a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.79%. This is an increase from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is 37.10%.

ConocoPhillips Company Profile

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.