American Assets Inc. Takes $840,000 Position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Key Points

• American Assets Inc. has acquired 8,000 shares of ConocoPhillips, valued at approximately $840,000, representing 0.3% of their total portfolio.
• Several large investors are increasing their stakes in ConocoPhillips, with Prudential PLC boosting its holdings by 149.7% in the last quarter.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.78 per share, yielding 3.4% and a payout ratio of 39.64%.

American Assets Inc. bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 8,000 shares of the energy producer's stock, valued at approximately $840,000. ConocoPhillips makes up approximately 0.3% of American Assets Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of COP. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in ConocoPhillips by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 45,847,572 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $4,546,706,000 after acquiring an additional 5,549,078 shares during the period. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 83.0% in the first quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC now owns 18,060 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $1,897,000 after purchasing an additional 8,189 shares during the last quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 159.6% during the first quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 48,800 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $5,125,000 after purchasing an additional 30,000 shares during the period. ORG Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 853.3% during the first quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 6,616 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $698,000 after purchasing an additional 5,922 shares during the period. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. increased its position in ConocoPhillips by 151.1% in the first quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 91,224 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $9,580,000 after buying an additional 54,900 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company's stock.

ConocoPhillips Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of COP traded down $0.56 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $92.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,915,543 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,714,840. ConocoPhillips has a 52 week low of $79.88 and a 52 week high of $116.08. The stock has a market cap of $117.01 billion, a PE ratio of 11.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.67. The company's fifty day moving average price is $92.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $93.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The energy producer reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $14.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.39 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 16.02% and a return on equity of 16.54%. The company's revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.98 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. ConocoPhillips's payout ratio is currently 39.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $117.00 price target (up previously from $113.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $115.00 to $113.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 11th. UBS Group raised their price target on ConocoPhillips from $111.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $107.00 to $106.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $120.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $120.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Kirk L. Johnson bought 5,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $94.24 per share, with a total value of $499,472.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president directly owned 14,527 shares in the company, valued at $1,369,024.48. This represents a 57.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

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.