12,609 Shares in ConocoPhillips $COP Purchased by Clough Capital Partners L P

Key Points

• Clough Capital Partners L P made a new investment of approximately $1.32 million in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP), acquiring 12,609 shares during the first quarter.
• ConocoPhillips reported a quarterly revenue increase of 4.3% year-over-year, with earnings per share of $1.42, surpassing analysts' expectations.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.78, representing a yield of 3.2%, to be paid on September 2nd to investors of record.

Clough Capital Partners L P acquired 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 & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 12,609 shares of the energy producer's stock, valued at approximately $1,324,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 83.0% during 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 buying an additional 8,189 shares during the period. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 30,000 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 49.3% during the first quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 801,426 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $83,969,000 after buying an additional 264,726 shares during the period. ORG Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 5,922 shares during the period. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 151.1% during the first quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 91,224 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $9,580,000 after buying an additional 54,900 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on COP shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $116.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Melius Research started coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $117.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $109.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Roth Capital restated a "buy" rating and issued a $108.00 price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of ConocoPhillips from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $120.95.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ConocoPhillips news, EVP Kirk L. Johnson purchased 5,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $94.24 per share, for a total transaction of $499,472.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 14,527 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,369,024.48. The trade was a 57.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

ConocoPhillips Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:COP traded up $0.05 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $99.02. 5,188,222 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,000,366. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $94.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $93.17. ConocoPhillips has a 52-week low of $79.88 and a 52-week high of $116.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.27. The stock has a market cap of $123.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.69.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The energy producer reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $14.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.39 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 15.26% and a return on equity of 14.60%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.98 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. ConocoPhillips's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.88%.

ConocoPhillips Company Profile

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.