Valmark Advisers Inc. Cuts Position in ConocoPhillips $COP

Valmark Advisers Inc. lessened its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 8.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,928 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 437 shares during the quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $442,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in COP. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 83.0% during the 1st quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC now owns 18,060 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,897,000 after acquiring an additional 8,189 shares in the last quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 159.6% during the 1st quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 48,800 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $5,125,000 after acquiring an additional 30,000 shares in the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 49.3% during the 1st quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 801,426 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $83,969,000 after acquiring an additional 264,726 shares in the last quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 853.3% during the 1st quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 6,616 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $698,000 after acquiring an additional 5,922 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 151.1% during the 1st quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 91,224 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $9,580,000 after acquiring an additional 54,900 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

COP opened at $91.94 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $94.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $92.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.27. ConocoPhillips has a 1 year low of $79.88 and a 1 year high of $115.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $114.83 billion, a PE ratio of 12.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.62.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The energy producer reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analysts’ expectations of $14.39 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.98 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th were given a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 15th. Melius assumed coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $117.00 price target on the stock. Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $114.00 to $113.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.23.

About ConocoPhillips

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.