HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC Sells 256,996 Shares of ConocoPhillips $COP

HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC decreased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 31.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 563,441 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 256,996 shares during the quarter. ConocoPhillips makes up approximately 2.9% of HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $53,296,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new position in ConocoPhillips in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 58.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 316 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Bfsg LLC acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on COP shares. Wolfe Research lifted their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $122.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Monday, December 29th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on ConocoPhillips from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Argus lifted their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $111.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $98.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $119.33.

ConocoPhillips News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting ConocoPhillips this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler raised its price target on COP to $154 and moved to an “overweight” rating, a high-profile upgrade that likely attracted buyers and helped support the stock. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs added ConocoPhillips to its U.S. Conviction List and other analysts have recently lifted targets — institutional endorsements and multiple upgrades underpin demand and justify higher valuations. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Sector tailwinds: EIA projections for higher 2026 oil prices and recent WTI strength support E&P cash flow outlooks (beneficial for COP’s revenue and free-cash-flow trajectory). Rising oil expectations are a positive backdrop. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst and press coverage (Zacks, MarketBeat) highlights shifting company strategy from growth to “cash harvesting” after the Marathon Oil integration — this can mean more buybacks/dividends but raises questions about long-term growth. Watch management commentary and capex guidance. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Portfolio moves: the company is pursuing divestitures (e.g., ~$2B Permian asset sale) as it reshapes assets post-acquisition — could improve capital allocation but execution/timing matters. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: recent disclosed sales include a director sale (~$4.75M) and SVP sales (~$1.0M). Large insider exits can increase near-term selling pressure and raise governance questions for some investors. Read More. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/legal risk: Louisiana is reportedly close to a deal with ConocoPhillips over coastal erosion — potential settlement costs or remediation obligations could be a headline risk. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Oil-price volatility: after earlier tension-driven strength, crude has pulled back on strategic-reserve-related headlines; near-term crude weakness would pressure E&P revenue and margins and could cap COP’s multiple. Read More.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

COP opened at $120.39 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $148.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.27. ConocoPhillips has a 12 month low of $79.88 and a 12 month high of $122.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $106.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $96.77.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The energy producer reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by ($0.21). The company had revenue of $13.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.35 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 11.90%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.98 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th were issued a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.00%.

Insider Activity

In other ConocoPhillips news, SVP Kelly Brunetti Rose sold 8,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.04, for a total value of $1,003,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 32,984 shares in the company, valued at $3,893,431.36. This trade represents a 20.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Timothy A. Leach sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.79, for a total transaction of $4,751,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 411,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,847,754.69. This represents a 8.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 549,208 shares of company stock worth $52,070,430 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Company Profile

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is a Houston-based international energy company focused on exploration and production of oil and natural gas. Formed in 2002 through the merger of Conoco Inc and Phillips Petroleum Company, the firm operates as an independent upstream company that explores for, develops and produces crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids across a portfolio of global assets.

The company’s activities span conventional and unconventional resources and include onshore and offshore operations in multiple regions around the world.