Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Buys New Stake in ConocoPhillips $COP

Key Points

• Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired 477,773 ConocoPhillips shares during the second quarter, valued at approximately $49.7 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds now own 82.36% of the company.
• ConocoPhillips reported quarterly earnings of $3.24 per share, exceeding estimates of $2.90, while revenue rose 32.4% year over year to $19.52 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.84 per share, representing an annualized payout of $3.36 and a 2.6% yield. Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $140.29.

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 477,773 shares of the energy producer's stock, valued at approximately $49,669,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 151.0% in the 1st quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 241 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Ballast Advisors LLC acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips in the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Evergreen Advisors LLC bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the first quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Allied Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the second quarter worth about $32,000. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

ConocoPhillips stock opened at $129.57 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market cap of $155.66 billion, a PE ratio of 17.14, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.11. The company's 50-day moving average is $116.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $118.48. ConocoPhillips has a 1 year low of $85.57 and a 1 year high of $135.88.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The energy producer reported $3.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $19.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.79 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 14.72% and a net margin of 14.22%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 32.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.42 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 10.55 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. ConocoPhillips's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $168.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $138.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $143.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Susquehanna increased their target price on ConocoPhillips from $155.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on ConocoPhillips from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $140.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Andrew D. Lundquist sold 9,487 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.15, for a total transaction of $1,282,168.05. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 9,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,296,493.95. The trade was a 49.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

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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