ConocoPhillips $COP Stock: Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Boosts Position

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 15,532.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 489,302 shares of the energy producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 486,172 shares during the period. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $61,236,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 151.0% during the 1st quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 241 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Ballast Advisors LLC acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips in the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Evergreen Advisors LLC purchased a new position in ConocoPhillips during the first quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Allied Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in ConocoPhillips during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of NYSE COP opened at $142.34 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.54. ConocoPhillips has a fifty-two week low of $85.57 and a fifty-two week high of $142.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $171.00 billion, a PE ratio of 18.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.24. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $131.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $122.22.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The energy producer reported $3.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $19.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.79 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 14.72% and a net margin of 14.22%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 32.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.42 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 10.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th were paid a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Andrew Lundquist sold 9,487 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.15, for a total transaction of $1,282,168.05. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 9,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,296,493.95. This represents a 49.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on COP shares. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Mizuho cut their price target on ConocoPhillips from $150.00 to $146.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on ConocoPhillips from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $138.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Argus lifted their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $136.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $143.29.

About ConocoPhillips

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) is an independent exploration and production company engaged in finding, developing and producing crude oil, natural gas, natural gas liquids and liquefied natural gas. Unlike integrated energy companies, ConocoPhillips focuses primarily on upstream activities rather than refining and retail fuel operations.

The company has a diversified portfolio of assets in major producing regions, including the United States, Canada, Australia, Norway and Qatar. Its U.S. operations include oil and gas developments in Alaska and the Lower 48 states, while its international portfolio includes conventional and offshore projects.