Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Raises Stock Position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 13.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,507 shares of the energy producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 421 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $348,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in COP. Albion Financial Group UT lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 876.9% in the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 254 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the third quarter worth $31,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the third quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in ConocoPhillips during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director R A. Walker acquired 10,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $97.80 per share, with a total value of $1,017,120.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 38,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,716,400. This represents a 37.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Arjun N. Murti bought 2,500 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $95.87 per share, for a total transaction of $239,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 21,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,061,205. This trade represents a 13.16 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James downgraded ConocoPhillips from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $157.00 to $124.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $137.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.47.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

COP stock opened at $88.98 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $113.21 billion, a PE ratio of 11.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.12. ConocoPhillips has a 12 month low of $86.81 and a 12 month high of $135.18. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $99.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $104.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 17.26% and a net margin of 16.23%. Equities research analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were given a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.05%.

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.