Short Interest in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Increases By 9.3%

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 14,080,000 shares, an increase of 9.3% from the March 31st total of 12,880,000 shares. Currently, 1.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 5,370,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days.

Insider Transactions at ConocoPhillips

In related news, EVP Nicholas G. Olds sold 12,150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.44, for a total transaction of $1,536,246.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,836,161.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other ConocoPhillips news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 607,000 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,780 shares in the company, valued at $853,669.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nicholas G. Olds sold 12,150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.44, for a total value of $1,536,246.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,522 shares in the company, valued at $1,836,161.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 700,775 shares of company stock valued at $87,615,169 in the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ConocoPhillips

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of COP. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 45.8% in the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 261 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Sloy Dahl & Holst LLC boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 3.3% in the third quarter. Sloy Dahl & Holst LLC now owns 2,629 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $315,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 4.0% in the first quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. now owns 2,232 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 2.8% in the third quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 3,305 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $396,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 0.5% in the third quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 18,944 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $2,270,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Raymond James decreased 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. Piper Sandler boosted 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $141.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on ConocoPhillips from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $142.65.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of NYSE COP opened at $124.36 on Thursday. ConocoPhillips has a 1-year low of $95.70 and a 1-year high of $135.18. The business has a 50-day moving average of $123.43 and a 200-day moving average of $117.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The company has a market capitalization of $146.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.73, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.25.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its 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. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 22.08% and a net margin of 18.71%. The company had revenue of $15.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.71 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 9.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 19th were given a $0.78 dividend. This is an increase from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.51%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.61%.

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.