California State Teachers Retirement System Boosts Position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 7.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,555,952 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 106,037 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $154,304,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of COP. Albion Financial Group UT grew its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 876.9% during the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 254 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 80.5% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 343 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $133.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Raymond James lowered shares of ConocoPhillips from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $157.00 to $124.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Susquehanna set a $136.00 price objective on ConocoPhillips in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. TD Cowen initiated coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, January 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $126.89.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of COP stock opened at $91.78 on Monday. ConocoPhillips has a one year low of $79.88 and a one year high of $130.44. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $94.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $100.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $116.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.78, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.83.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 17.26% and a net margin of 16.23%. Equities analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.40%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.05%.

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.