Hennessy Advisors Inc. Increases Stock Position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 151.1% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 91,224 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 54,900 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $9,580,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. 10Elms LLP purchased a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. 82.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on COP. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $114.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $116.00 to $113.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $127.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.30.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

ConocoPhillips stock opened at $97.00 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $122.63 billion, a PE ratio of 12.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.61. ConocoPhillips has a 52-week low of $79.88 and a 52-week high of $118.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company’s 50 day moving average is $88.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.95.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The energy producer reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $16.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.74 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 16.23% and a return on equity of 17.26%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.05 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.64%.

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.