Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock investors bought 68,293 call options on the company. This is an increase of 339% compared to the typical volume of 15,545 call options.

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:COP traded up $2.15 during trading on Friday, hitting $126.67. 4,214,118 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,479,042. ConocoPhillips has a 1-year low of $85.57 and a 1-year high of $135.87. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $113.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $116.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market cap of $152.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.75, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.11.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The energy producer reported $3.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.34. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 14.22% and a return on equity of 14.72%. The business had revenue of $19.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.42 earnings per share. ConocoPhillips’s revenue was up 32.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 10.05 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is presently 44.44%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in COP. Patten Group Inc. lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 1.5% in the first quarter. Patten Group Inc. now owns 5,447 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $719,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. IFC Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. IFC Advisors LLC now owns 20,182 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $2,664,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 9.6% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 1,006 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $124,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 0.4% during the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 21,144 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $2,791,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Finally, Sigma Planning Corp increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 0.6% in the first quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 16,062 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $2,120,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Roth Capital raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $124.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Freedom Capital upgraded ConocoPhillips from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on ConocoPhillips from $160.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.68.

About ConocoPhillips

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.