Ancora Advisors LLC Purchases New Position in ConocoPhillips $COP

Key Points

• Ancora Advisors acquired 37,261 ConocoPhillips shares during the second quarter, valued at approximately $3.87 million. Institutional investors collectively own 82.36% of the company.
• ConocoPhillips reported quarterly earnings of $3.24 per share, exceeding the $2.90 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 32.4% year over year to $19.52 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.84 per share, equivalent to a 2.6% yield, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $140.29.

Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 37,261 shares of the energy producer's stock, valued at approximately $3,874,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 151.0% in the first quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 241 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management purchased a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Ballast Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Evergreen Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Allied Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ConocoPhillips news, SVP Andrew D. Lundquist sold 9,487 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.15, for a total value of $1,282,168.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 9,593 shares in the company, valued at $1,296,493.95. This represents a 49.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

NYSE:COP opened at $130.79 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.54. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $116.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $118.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $157.12 billion, a PE ratio of 17.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.11. ConocoPhillips has a 52-week low of $85.57 and a 52-week high of $135.88.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The energy producer reported $3.24 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $19.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.79 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 14.72% and a net margin of 14.22%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 32.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.42 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 10.55 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. ConocoPhillips's payout ratio is currently 44.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on COP shares. Freedom Capital upgraded ConocoPhillips from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Barclays reduced their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on ConocoPhillips from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. UBS Group raised their target price on ConocoPhillips from $143.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an "underperform" rating and set a $168.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $140.29.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding COP? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.