Howard Financial Services LTD. Acquires 850 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Howard Financial Services LTD. raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 25.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,163 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 850 shares during the quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $413,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of COP. Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 444.8% in the 2nd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 13,484 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,542,000 after purchasing an additional 11,009 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 168.3% in the second quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 12,638 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,446,000 after buying an additional 7,928 shares in the last quarter. ProVise Management Group LLC boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 10.2% during the second quarter. ProVise Management Group LLC now owns 50,288 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $5,752,000 after buying an additional 4,655 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 72.3% during the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 111,852 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $12,794,000 after buying an additional 46,942 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,990 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,715,000 after acquiring an additional 1,275 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:COP opened at $105.76 on Friday. 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 cap of $121.72 billion, a PE ratio of 12.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.19. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $103.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $107.53. ConocoPhillips has a one year low of $94.23 and a one year high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.10. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 17.29%. The company had revenue of $13.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.97 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.16 EPS. ConocoPhillips’s quarterly revenue was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.95%. This is a boost from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on COP shares. Truist Financial increased their target price on ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, December 6th. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $134.00 to $132.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $136.00.

ConocoPhillips 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.