Gifford Fong Associates Increases Stock Position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Gifford Fong Associates raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 158.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 41,281 shares of the energy producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,281 shares during the quarter. ConocoPhillips accounts for approximately 1.0% of Gifford Fong Associates’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Gifford Fong Associates’ holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $4,094,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in ConocoPhillips by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 121,826,062 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $12,081,491,000 after purchasing an additional 12,751,120 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 19.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 66,928,793 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $7,046,263,000 after buying an additional 10,663,093 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 20.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,161,897 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,280,725,000 after buying an additional 5,240,016 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,733,928 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $2,601,639,000 after acquiring an additional 924,289 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 13,780,782 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,366,640,000 after acquiring an additional 1,324,771 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Trading Down 0.4 %

COP opened at $102.37 on Monday. ConocoPhillips has a one year low of $86.81 and a one year high of $135.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market cap of $130.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.12. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $98.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $103.28.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 17.26% and a net margin of 16.23%. On average, equities analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on COP. Mizuho raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $132.00 to $134.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $127.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Raymond James cut 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 report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price target on ConocoPhillips in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $132.95.

About ConocoPhillips

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.