Peoples Financial Services CORP. Acquires 793 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Peoples Financial Services CORP. boosted its position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 43.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,636 shares of the energy producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 793 shares during the quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $261,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in COP. Excalibur Management Corp lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 2.4% in the second quarter. Excalibur Management Corp now owns 4,037 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $462,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Cypress Capital Group lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 0.5% in the third quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 18,790 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,978,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Aprio Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 4.8% in the third quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,125 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 4.3% in the second quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 2,430 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $278,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 1.2% in the second quarter. Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,751 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,001,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $153.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $120.00 to $123.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $136.65.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of COP stock opened at $104.83 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $104.21 and its 200 day moving average is $107.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $120.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.46, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.19. ConocoPhillips has a 12 month low of $94.23 and a 12 month high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $13.97 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 19.53%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.16 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 7.77 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a $0.78 dividend. This is a positive change from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.98%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.10%.

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

In other news, Director Arjun N. Murti purchased 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $95.87 per share, with a total value of $239,675.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,061,205. This represents a 13.16 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director R A. Walker purchased 10,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $97.80 per share, with a total value of $1,017,120.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 38,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,716,400. This trade represents a 37.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.