ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Short Interest Update

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 14,080,000 shares, a growth of 9.3% from the March 31st total of 12,880,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 5,370,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.6 days. Approximately 1.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on COP. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Scotiabank upped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on ConocoPhillips from $145.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Raymond James dropped their target price on ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $137.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $142.65.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of NYSE COP traded down $4.60 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $125.62. 6,288,234 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,343,554. ConocoPhillips has a 52 week low of $95.70 and a 52 week high of $135.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $147.78 billion, a PE ratio of 14.37, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.24. The company's 50 day moving average price is $122.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $117.67.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The energy producer reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $15.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.47 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 18.71% and a return on equity of 22.08%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.71 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 9.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 19th were given a $0.78 dividend. This is a boost from ConocoPhillips's previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.48%. ConocoPhillips's payout ratio is presently 25.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 607,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.91, for a total transaction of $76,427,370.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 6,780 shares of the company's stock, valued at $853,669.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other ConocoPhillips news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 607,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.91, for a total value of $76,427,370.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 6,780 shares of the company's stock, valued at $853,669.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher P. Delk sold 8,505 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.06, for a total value of $953,070.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 700,775 shares of company stock valued at $87,615,169 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ConocoPhillips

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of COP. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 24.9% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 23,712,617 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $2,752,325,000 after acquiring an additional 4,726,952 shares during the period. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 512.8% in the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 3,737,026 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $433,757,000 after acquiring an additional 3,127,165 shares during the period. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the third quarter valued at about $310,102,000. Capital Wealth Planning LLC increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 45,426.8% during the third quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,429,085 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $171,204,000 after buying an additional 1,425,946 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3,931.3% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,455,878 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $185,304,000 after buying an additional 1,419,764 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company's stock.

ConocoPhillips Company Profile

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.