Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in ConocoPhillips $COP

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 93,318 shares of the energy producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,906 shares during the quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $8,374,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 136.8% during the second quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 315 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the period. Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 249.5% in the 2nd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 325 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the period. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 341.5% in the 1st quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 287 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Finally, IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the first quarter valued at about $37,000. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on COP shares. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Melius assumed coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $117.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank upped their target price on ConocoPhillips from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Capital One Financial increased their price target on ConocoPhillips from $111.00 to $112.00 in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $114.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $115.63.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:COP opened at $87.45 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. ConocoPhillips has a twelve month low of $79.88 and a twelve month high of $115.38. The company’s 50 day moving average is $93.58 and its 200 day moving average is $91.85. The company has a market cap of $109.22 billion, a PE ratio of 11.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.62.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The energy producer reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.06. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 15.26% and a return on equity of 14.60%. The business had revenue of $14.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.98 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th were paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.88%.

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.