Short Interest in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Rises By 11.2%

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 24,870,000 shares, a growth of 11.2% from the October 31st total of 22,360,000 shares. Currently, 1.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 6,830,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.6 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ConocoPhillips

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of COP. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the 2nd quarter worth $30,021,000. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 83.8% in the second quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 16,427 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,879,000 after buying an additional 7,490 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 23.6% in the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 71,097 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $7,488,000 after buying an additional 13,595 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 5,422.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,587,729 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $482,996,000 after buying an additional 4,504,653 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in ConocoPhillips by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,489,514 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $262,094,000 after acquiring an additional 46,621 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, October 18th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. UBS Group lowered their price target on ConocoPhillips from $153.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $126.00 price objective (down from $139.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their target price on ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Six 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.63.

ConocoPhillips Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE COP traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $106.05. 5,861,303 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,998,912. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $122.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.18. The business’s 50 day moving average is $108.77 and its 200-day moving average is $110.72. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $101.29 and a 12-month high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $13.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.97 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 19.53%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.16 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 7.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This is a positive change from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.