Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Sells 6,007 Shares of ConocoPhillips $COP

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC decreased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 6.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 83,565 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 6,007 shares during the quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $8,687,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Senator Investment Group LP grew its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 145.8% in the second quarter. Senator Investment Group LP now owns 538,290 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $55,961,000 after acquiring an additional 319,328 shares during the last quarter. Quantitative Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 2nd quarter worth about $4,633,000. Moore Capital Management LP bought a new position in ConocoPhillips in the 2nd quarter worth about $8,941,000. Sigma Planning Corp boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 9.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 17,583 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,828,000 after purchasing an additional 1,521 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its position in ConocoPhillips by 10.1% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 35,635 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $3,705,000 after purchasing an additional 3,273 shares during the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $168.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Monday, August 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $138.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Freedom Capital raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Argus upped their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $136.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.29.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of COP stock opened at $132.63 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $117.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $118.81. ConocoPhillips has a 52 week low of $85.57 and a 52 week high of $135.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $159.33 billion, a PE ratio of 17.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.11.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The energy producer reported $3.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.34. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 14.22% and a return on equity of 14.72%. The company had revenue of $19.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 32.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 10.55 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.44%.

Key ConocoPhillips News

Here are the key news stories impacting ConocoPhillips this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Potential access to Venezuelan resources: A proposed U.S.-backed venture could give American oil companies access to development opportunities across 17 Venezuelan fields. Although ConocoPhillips was reportedly among companies previously hesitant to move quickly, greater U.S. government involvement could reduce some political and investment barriers over time. Trump’s Venezuela Deal Leaves $100 Billion Question Unanswered
• Positive Sentiment: Potential Iraq growth opportunities: Iraqi officials discussed oil and gas development with BP and ConocoPhillips, highlighting possible project opportunities that could support the company’s international production portfolio. Iraq discusses oil and gas development with BP, ConocoPhillips
• Positive Sentiment: Defensive industry positioning: Zacks identified ConocoPhillips as relatively well positioned to withstand slowing production growth, refining-related cost pressures and rising renewable-energy competition, supporting its investment case compared with weaker industry peers. Can These 3 U.S. Integrated Energy Stocks Overcome Industry Headwinds?
• Neutral Sentiment: Venezuela investment uncertainty: Some major producers are questioning the proposed U.S.-Venezuela arrangement because of the central role of a Venezuelan businessman and uncertainty surrounding the investment structure. This could delay ConocoPhillips’ participation, even if the long-term resource potential is substantial. Trump’s oil deal with Venezuela raises red flags for some major producers
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term supply benefits appear limited: Analysts caution that Venezuela’s enormous reserves will not quickly translate into additional oil production because of infrastructure, financing and operational constraints. That weakens the immediate earnings benefit implied by the deal and could contribute to future global supply growth. Energy Expert Warns Venezuela’s Oil Deal Won’t Fix Supply Anytime Soon
• Negative Sentiment: Buyout-related valuation dispute: 3D Energi is challenging an independent valuation of its 20% interest during a ConocoPhillips buyout process. The dispute could complicate negotiations or increase transaction costs, although it does not necessarily alter the underlying asset value. 3D Energi Challenges Independent Valuation

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

In related news, SVP Andrew D. Lundquist sold 9,487 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.15, for a total value of $1,282,168.05. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 9,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,296,493.95. The trade was a 49.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.