Stock Traders Buy High Volume of ConocoPhillips Call Options (NYSE:COP)

Key Points

• Traders bought 17,775 ConocoPhillips call options, 49% above the typical volume, suggesting increased bullish positioning—but options activity does not guarantee a stock-price move.
• Shares rose $1.82 to $141.88. The company beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, with revenue up 29.2% year over year, and raised its quarterly dividend from $0.84 to $0.93 per share.
• Analyst views were mixed: the consensus remained “Moderate Buy” with a $145.31 average target, while some firms raised targets and others downgraded or cut their outlooks.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Friday. Traders acquired 17,775 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 49% compared to the typical volume of 11,949 call options.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

ConocoPhillips stock traded up $1.82 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $141.88. The company had a trading volume of 1,994,758 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,954,188. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market cap of $167.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.91, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.16. The company has a 50 day moving average of $137.15 and a 200-day moving average of $122.89. ConocoPhillips has a 52 week low of $85.70 and a 52 week high of $154.28.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The energy producer reported $3.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.05 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $19.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.59 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 16.55% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The business's revenue was up 29.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.61 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 12.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. This is a positive change from ConocoPhillips's previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. ConocoPhillips's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.29%.

Recent ConocoPhillips Headlines

Here are a few of the latest headlines about COP:

• Positive Sentiment: Barclays raised its price target to $165 from $150 and reiterated an “overweight” rating, signaling confidence in further upside. Barclays recommendations
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually high call-option trading—17,775 contracts, about 49% above the average daily volume—may reflect increased bullish positioning, though options activity does not guarantee a share-price move.
• Negative Sentiment: Sanford C. Bernstein cut its rating from “outperform” to “market perform” and lowered its target to $122, implying potential downside from the cited share price. Freedom Broker also moved its rating to “hold.” Bernstein recommendations Freedom Broker rating

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $189.00 to $185.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 6th. New Street Research set a $138.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Wednesday. Mizuho set a $149.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Thursday, November 5th. Argus boosted their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $136.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Freedom Broker cut shares of ConocoPhillips from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their price target for the company from $122.00 to $138.00 in a report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $145.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ConocoPhillips news, SVP Andrew Lundquist sold 9,487 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.15, for a total transaction of $1,282,168.05. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 9,593 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,296,493.95. This represents a 49.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of ConocoPhillips

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 22.0% during the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 427 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Bfsg LLC raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 34.8% in the 3rd quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 302 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Warwick Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Warwick Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,066 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $509,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 6,828 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $855,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 9.6% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 1,006 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $124,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About ConocoPhillips

ConocoPhillips is an independent exploration and production company focused on finding, developing and producing oil and natural gas. Its products include crude oil, natural gas, liquefied natural gas and natural gas liquids. The company operates in several regions, including North America, Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and the Asia-Pacific. Its activities span exploration, development and production, with a portfolio that includes both conventional and unconventional resources. ConocoPhillips was formed in 2002 through the merger of Conoco and Phillips Petroleum.

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