KBC Group NV Increases Position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 16.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 390,401 shares of the energy producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 54,526 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $41,101,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 35.8% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 32,192,580 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $4,097,473,000 after acquiring an additional 8,479,963 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its position in ConocoPhillips by 9.6% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 21,252,822 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $2,705,059,000 after purchasing an additional 1,856,085 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 4.6% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 9,900,596 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,132,430,000 after purchasing an additional 438,241 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 19.3% in the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,811,289 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $717,093,000 after buying an additional 1,101,685 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 10.3% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,451,796 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $567,111,000 after buying an additional 415,878 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:COP opened at $112.92 on Friday. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $101.29 and a 12-month high of $135.18. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $107.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $111.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market cap of $129.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.43, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.21.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.10. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 19.53%. The business had revenue of $13.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.97 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.16 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This is a boost from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.76%. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is currently 37.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on COP. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, October 18th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wolfe Research began coverage on ConocoPhillips in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $145.00 target price on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.63.

ConocoPhillips 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.