Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Raises Holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,953 shares of the energy producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $206,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vicus Capital raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.7% in the second quarter. Vicus Capital now owns 2,637 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $302,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 3,900 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $446,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Excalibur Management Corp lifted its position in ConocoPhillips by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Excalibur Management Corp now owns 4,037 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $462,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Cypress Capital Group lifted its position in ConocoPhillips by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 18,790 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,978,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, First Hawaiian Bank grew its stake in ConocoPhillips by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 36,739 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $4,202,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Mizuho raised their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $126.00 price objective (down from $139.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, October 11th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $153.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Six equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.63.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of NYSE COP opened at $107.39 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $123.60 billion, a PE ratio of 12.77, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $108.80 and a 200 day moving average of $110.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.30. ConocoPhillips has a one year low of $101.29 and a one year 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 the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $13.60 billion during 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 firm’s revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.16 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 7.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. This is a positive change from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.91%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.10%.

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.