Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. Grows Stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. lifted its position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 9.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,542 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 318 shares during the period. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $355,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Albion Financial Group UT lifted its position in ConocoPhillips by 876.9% during the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 254 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in ConocoPhillips during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in ConocoPhillips during the third quarter valued at $31,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in ConocoPhillips during the third quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in ConocoPhillips during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on COP. Raymond James downgraded ConocoPhillips from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $157.00 to $124.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Mizuho upgraded ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $132.00 to $134.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company 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, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.47.

ConocoPhillips Stock Down 6.7 %

Shares of NYSE COP opened at $92.52 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $117.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.88, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $100.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $104.90. ConocoPhillips has a 52-week low of $91.56 and a 52-week high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 17.26% and a net margin of 16.23%. Sell-side analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.37%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.