W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co Makes New Investment in ConocoPhillips $COP

W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 4,566 shares of the energy producer’s stock, valued at approximately $427,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 58.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 316 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting ConocoPhillips

Here are the key news stories impacting ConocoPhillips this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley bumped its price target to $149 (from $108) and kept an “overweight” rating, implying notable upside versus the recent price — a large broker upgrade that typically supports buying interest. MarketScreener
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research upgraded COP from “hold” to “strong-buy,” a headline upgrade that can attract retail and some institutional flows. Zacks.com
• Positive Sentiment: ConocoPhillips reported Q1 results showing $2.2 billion in net earnings (about $1.78/share), topping consensus estimates, and announced the quarterly dividend — the beat and cash-generation signal underpin near-term investor confidence. Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: Macro/commodity support: analysts and outlets point to higher crude prices (tensions in the Middle East) and Goldman Sachs raising its Brent forecast to $90 — a higher oil price backdrop improves ConocoPhillips’ revenue and cash-flow outlook. Goldman/247wallst
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage pieces and previews (Yahoo Finance, Globe & Mail, Zacks) highlighted COP as a name to watch into earnings and discussed valuation and sector positioning; useful context but less likely to move the stock alone. Yahoo Finance
• Negative Sentiment: Operational caution: Reuters and the company commentary noted Q1 profit fell versus prior year and that lower output weighed on results — a reminder of production risks that can cap upside if volumes don’t recover. Reuters

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 3.0%

Shares of COP stock opened at $128.05 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $121.88 and a 200-day moving average of $104.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $84.28 and a 12-month high of $135.87. The firm has a market cap of $156.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.20, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.19.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The energy producer reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.23 by ($0.21). ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 11.90% and a net margin of 12.98%.The company had revenue of $13.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.98 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 7.97 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.00%.

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

In related news, EVP Nicholas G. Olds sold 6,994 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.06, for a total value of $888,657.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $685,488.70. The trade was a 56.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Heather G. Hrap sold 2,654 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.68, for a total transaction of $317,630.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 5,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $677,747.84. This represents a 31.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 734,891 shares of company stock worth $93,345,692 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on COP shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $129.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $118.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Argus raised their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $111.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $121.00 to $149.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $132.44.

ConocoPhillips Profile

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is a Houston-based international energy company focused on exploration and production of oil and natural gas. Formed in 2002 through the merger of Conoco Inc and Phillips Petroleum Company, the firm operates as an independent upstream company that explores for, develops and produces crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids across a portfolio of global assets.

The company’s activities span conventional and unconventional resources and include onshore and offshore operations in multiple regions around the world.