Pring Turner Capital Group Inc. Takes Position in ConocoPhillips $COP

Key Points

• Pring Turner Capital Group disclosed a new fourth-quarter position in ConocoPhillips, buying 22,425 shares valued at about $2.1 million. The filing comes as institutional ownership in COP remains high at 82.36%.
• ConocoPhillips reported strong quarterly earnings, posting $1.89 per share versus the $1.72 consensus estimate, while revenue came in at $15.76 billion. Analysts now expect the company to earn 9.92 EPS for the current year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.84 per share, equal to a 2.9% annualized yield. Meanwhile, Wall Street remains broadly positive, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $134.60.

Pring Turner Capital Group Inc. acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 22,425 shares of the energy producer's stock, valued at approximately $2,099,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in COP. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 18.2% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 45,645,397 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $4,318,239,000 after acquiring an additional 7,037,873 shares during the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its stake in ConocoPhillips by 31.3% during the 3rd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 10,351,010 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $979,102,000 after buying an additional 2,467,555 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in ConocoPhillips by 20.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,994,674 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $1,228,886,000 after buying an additional 2,216,010 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new position in ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $135,265,000. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new position in ConocoPhillips during the 4th quarter worth approximately $128,470,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company's stock.

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of COP stock opened at $114.01 on Monday. The business's 50 day moving average is $123.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $108.61. ConocoPhillips has a twelve month low of $84.33 and a twelve month high of $135.87. The company has a market capitalization of $138.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.11. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The energy producer reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.17. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 11.39% and a net margin of 12.10%.The company had revenue of $15.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.62 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.09 EPS. The company's revenue was down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 9.92 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be paid a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 11th. ConocoPhillips's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on ConocoPhillips from $132.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Susquehanna raised their price target on ConocoPhillips from $149.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Barclays raised their price target on ConocoPhillips from $136.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Argus raised 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. Finally, Roth Mkm downgraded ConocoPhillips from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $112.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $134.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other ConocoPhillips news, SVP Andrew D. Lundquist sold 34,500 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.68, for a total value of $4,128,960.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 17,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,090,689.92. This trade represents a 66.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kelly Brunetti Rose sold 8,500 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.04, for a total value of $1,003,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 32,984 shares in the company, valued at $3,893,431.36. This trade represents a 20.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 734,891 shares of company stock worth $93,345,692. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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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