WBI Investments LLC Buys 19,313 Shares of ConocoPhillips $COP

WBI Investments LLC boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 698.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 22,079 shares of the energy producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,313 shares during the period. WBI Investments LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $2,088,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tema Etfs LLC bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter worth $1,804,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,331,176 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $220,506,000 after acquiring an additional 298,245 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 8.7% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,996,426 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $188,842,000 after purchasing an additional 160,410 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 12.1% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 140,829 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $13,321,000 after purchasing an additional 15,202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC boosted its position in ConocoPhillips by 3.2% during the third quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 389,995 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $36,890,000 after purchasing an additional 11,958 shares during the period. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ConocoPhillips News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting ConocoPhillips this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and higher price targets—Barclays raised its target to $128 and flagged an “overweight” view, providing near-term buy-side support. Barclays Increases ConocoPhillips Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Mizuho (and other houses) raised long-term oil assumptions and lifted ConocoPhillips’ target to $136, reinforcing bullish institutional sentiment tied to higher crude assumptions. Mizuho Raises Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Macro/geopolitical support — analysts and market commentary note that tightening Middle East risk (Strait of Hormuz concerns) has pushed traders to price in higher crude, which benefits ConocoPhillips’ upstream earnings and cash flow leverage. Higher Oil Assumptions and Geopolitical Risk
• Positive Sentiment: Modest institutional buying — Advisory Services Network LLC disclosed a small increase in its COP stake, a signal of continued institutional appetite. Advisory Services Network Increases Holding
• Neutral Sentiment: Asset-level action in Australia — ConocoPhillips’ Australian unit has issued buyout/default notices and is seeking to acquire minority interests in an Otway Basin exploration permit. This could simplify operations and increase control but would require payment at fair-market value; implications for production/timing are unclear. ConocoPhillips Seeks to Buy 3D Energi Stake
• Negative Sentiment: Material insider selling — several senior executives disclosed large stock sales (EVP Nicholas Olds, SVP Andrew Lundquist, SVP Heather Hrap among others) over recent days; large, clustered insider sales can damp investor sentiment and increase near-term supply pressure on the stock. Insider Sales Disclosed

Analyst Ratings Changes

COP has been the topic of several research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $116.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $118.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Zacks Research lowered shares of ConocoPhillips from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Argus boosted their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $111.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research lifted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $122.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $120.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Andrew D. Lundquist sold 34,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.68, for a total value of $4,128,960.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 17,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,090,689.92. This represents a 66.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy A. Leach sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director directly owned 411,211 shares in the company, 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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 600,884 shares of company stock worth $58,250,367. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

ConocoPhillips stock opened at $122.85 on Wednesday. ConocoPhillips has a 1-year low of $79.88 and a 1-year high of $123.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $151.81 billion, a PE ratio of 19.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.27. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $107.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.26.

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

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th were paid a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 18th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.00%.

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.