ConocoPhillips $COP Shares Purchased by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Key Points

• Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its ConocoPhillips stake by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, buying 35,162 more shares and ending with 2.12 million shares valued at about $198 million.
• ConocoPhillips reported strong Q1 results, with earnings per share of $1.89 beating estimates of $1.72 and revenue of $15.76 billion coming in slightly ahead of expectations.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.84 per share, implying an annualized payout of $3.36 and a yield of 2.8%; meanwhile, analysts remain generally positive, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy.

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,115,151 shares of the energy producer's stock after buying an additional 35,162 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 0.17% of ConocoPhillips worth $198,004,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Triton Wealth Management PLLC acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips in the 4th quarter worth $196,000. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,324 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $1,528,000 after buying an additional 1,457 shares in the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,659 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $1,747,000 after buying an additional 2,220 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 39,341 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $3,683,000 after purchasing an additional 991 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Navalign LLC raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Navalign LLC now owns 10,606 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $993,000 after purchasing an additional 717 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company's stock.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:COP opened at $118.84 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. ConocoPhillips has a fifty-two week low of $84.28 and a fifty-two week high of $135.87. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $122.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $106.13. The company has a market cap of $144.78 billion, a PE ratio of 20.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.14.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The energy producer reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.17. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 12.10% and a return on equity of 11.39%. The business had revenue of $15.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.09 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 9.62 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th will be given a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. ConocoPhillips's dividend payout ratio is currently 57.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In related news, SVP Kelly Brunetti Rose sold 7,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.03, for a total transaction of $1,001,231.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 25,284 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,287,678.52. This represents a 23.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Heather G. Hrap sold 2,654 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.68, for a total transaction of $317,630.72. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 5,663 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $677,747.84. This represents a 31.91% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 734,891 shares of company stock worth $93,345,692. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting ConocoPhillips

Here are the key news stories impacting ConocoPhillips this week:

• Positive Sentiment: ConocoPhillips’ Q1 earnings update was in line to better than expected on key metrics, reinforcing the view that the company’s upstream portfolio is still generating solid cash flow and profitability. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts highlighted ConocoPhillips as a strong buy and argued that long-term cash flow tailwinds could support additional upside, which may be helping sentiment around the name. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: BMO Capital maintained an outperform rating and raised its price target to $135, signaling continued confidence in ConocoPhillips’ valuation and earnings potential. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: News that ConocoPhillips, TotalEnergies and QatarEnergy will assess a Syrian offshore gas block, along with TotalEnergies’ expansion in Egypt, adds to the company’s exploration optionality and could support future reserve growth. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Shareholders backed the board, governance and auditors at the annual meeting, removing a potential source of uncertainty but not materially changing the near-term investment case. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles comparing COP with other value stocks are more about valuation screening than a direct operational catalyst, so they are likely to have limited immediate impact on the shares. Article Title

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on COP shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $108.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $98.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Capital One Financial upped their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $116.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $118.00 to $152.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $129.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $132.84.

ConocoPhillips 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.

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