ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) saw a large decline in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 11,990,000 shares, a decline of 7.8% from the December 15th total of 13,000,000 shares. Currently, 0.9% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 6,600,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.8 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ConocoPhillips

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Albion Financial Group UT boosted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 876.9% in the 4th 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. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. 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. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Mizuho upgraded ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $132.00 to $134.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $136.00.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

COP stock traded up $0.15 during trading on Monday, reaching $105.76. 8,546,391 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,479,072. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $103.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a market capitalization of $121.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.19. ConocoPhillips has a twelve month low of $94.23 and a twelve month high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 17.29%. ConocoPhillips’s quarterly revenue was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.16 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

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