OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp Raises Stake in ConocoPhillips $COP

Key Points

• OMERS Administration increased its ConocoPhillips stake by 23.9% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 68,400 shares valued at approximately $9.03 million. Institutional investors collectively own 82.36% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with 18 Buy, nine Hold and one Sell rating; ConocoPhillips has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $134.16.
• ConocoPhillips exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.89 in EPS versus the $1.72 consensus, though revenue declined 6.1% year over year. The company maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.84, equivalent to a 2.8% annual yield.

OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 23.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 68,400 shares of the energy producer's stock after purchasing an additional 13,183 shares during the quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp's holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $9,029,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 48,360,060 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $4,527,230,000 after buying an additional 2,714,663 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in ConocoPhillips by 229.2% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,595,177 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $336,544,000 after buying an additional 2,503,156 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 41,450,162 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $3,880,151,000 after buying an additional 2,350,645 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 46,105.6% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,310,281 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $304,957,000 after buying an additional 2,305,281 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3,775.8% during the 1st quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,893,340 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $249,921,000 after acquiring an additional 1,844,490 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on COP. Argus boosted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $128.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $153.00 to $146.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Capital One Financial decreased their target price on ConocoPhillips from $156.00 to $154.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their target price on ConocoPhillips from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $134.16.

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of COP stock opened at $120.30 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $113.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $114.33. ConocoPhillips has a twelve month low of $85.57 and a twelve month high of $135.87. The company has a market capitalization of $146.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.42, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The energy producer reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $15.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.09 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 9.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

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

About ConocoPhillips

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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