Covington Investment Advisors Inc. Purchases 6,010 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Key Points

• Covington Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 5.7% in Q1, acquiring an additional 6,010 shares, bringing its total to 112,027 shares valued at approximately $11.77 million.
• ConocoPhillips recently reported earnings of $1.42 per share, surpassing analyst expectations, with a quarterly revenue of $14.94 billion, which is a 4.3% increase compared to the same quarter last year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.78, indicating a yield of 3.3%, with the dividend payout ratio currently at 39.64%.

Covington Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 5.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 112,027 shares of the energy producer's stock after buying an additional 6,010 shares during the quarter. ConocoPhillips accounts for approximately 1.8% of Covington Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Covington Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $11,765,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $4,546,706,000 after acquiring an additional 5,549,078 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 379.7% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 40,094,754 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $4,210,751,000 after acquiring an additional 31,736,423 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 31,287,113 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $3,101,989,000 after acquiring an additional 1,473,027 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 27.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,757,835 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $1,364,364,000 after acquiring an additional 2,971,661 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 12,021,394 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $1,191,984,000 after acquiring an additional 1,078,707 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on ConocoPhillips from $115.00 to $113.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 11th. 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 report on Thursday, June 26th. Roth Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $108.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $123.00 price objective (up previously from $113.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $114.00 to $113.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $120.84.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Kirk L. Johnson acquired 5,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $94.24 per share, for a total transaction of $499,472.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president directly owned 14,527 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,369,024.48. This trade represents a 57.44% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

COP traded up $1.23 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $95.82. 7,262,133 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,167,859. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $93.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $93.54. The company has a market cap of $119.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.86, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.10. ConocoPhillips has a twelve month low of $79.88 and a twelve month high of $116.08.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The energy producer reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $14.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.39 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 15.26% and a return on equity of 14.60%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.98 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. ConocoPhillips's dividend payout ratio is presently 41.88%.

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.