Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Buys New Stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 13,186 shares of the energy producer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,388,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of COP. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 19.1% in the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 28,601 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $3,640,000 after purchasing an additional 4,578 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the second quarter worth about $30,021,000. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 83.8% in the second quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 16,427 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,879,000 after acquiring an additional 7,490 shares in the last quarter. TCW Group Inc. boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 37.8% in the second quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 30,026 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $3,434,000 after purchasing an additional 8,231 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Doheny Asset Management CA purchased a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $815,000. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on COP. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $153.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, September 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $126.00 target price (down previously from $139.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.63.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

NYSE COP opened at $112.92 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $107.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $111.90. ConocoPhillips has a 52 week low of $101.29 and a 52 week high of $135.18. The stock has a market cap of $129.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $13.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.97 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 17.29%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.16 EPS. Analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th will be issued a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.76%. This is an increase from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.10%.

ConocoPhillips Company Profile

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.