Peirce Capital Management LLC Makes New Investment in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Peirce Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 2,725 shares of the energy producer’s stock, valued at approximately $316,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COP. Norris Perne & French LLP MI raised its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Norris Perne & French LLP MI now owns 4,364 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $523,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Sloy Dahl & Holst LLC raised its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sloy Dahl & Holst LLC now owns 2,629 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $315,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 35.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC now owns 333 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. CRA Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. CRA Financial Services LLC now owns 4,702 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $563,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KLCM Advisors Inc. raised its position in ConocoPhillips by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 3,305 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $396,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on COP shares. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $139.00 to $133.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Barclays started coverage on shares of 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 lifted their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $141.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.59.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Christopher P. Delk sold 8,505 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.06, for a total transaction of $953,070.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, SVP Heather G. Hrap sold 4,548 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.55, for a total transaction of $502,781.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,654 shares in the company, valued at approximately $293,399.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher P. Delk sold 8,505 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.06, for a total transaction of $953,070.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 700,775 shares of company stock valued at $87,615,169 in the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

COP traded down $0.68 on Tuesday, hitting $129.57. 1,004,874 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,460,105. ConocoPhillips has a fifty-two week low of $95.70 and a fifty-two week high of $135.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $119.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $116.86. The stock has a market cap of $152.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.24.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The energy producer reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.32. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 18.71% and a return on equity of 22.08%. The company had revenue of $15.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.71 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 9.21 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 19th were paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This is a boost from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio 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.