Erste Asset Management GmbH Buys New Stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 67,100 shares of the energy producer’s stock, valued at approximately $7,017,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,021,000. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC raised its position in ConocoPhillips by 83.8% during the second quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 16,427 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,879,000 after purchasing an additional 7,490 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 23.6% in the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 71,097 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $7,488,000 after purchasing an additional 13,595 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 5,422.3% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,587,729 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $482,996,000 after purchasing an additional 4,504,653 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,489,514 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $262,094,000 after purchasing an additional 46,621 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank lowered their price target on ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, September 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $126.00 price objective (down from $139.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.63.

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE COP opened at $108.34 on Monday. ConocoPhillips has a one year low of $101.29 and a one year high of $135.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.30. The company has a market capitalization of $124.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.21. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $108.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $110.72.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $13.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.97 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 19.53%. ConocoPhillips’s revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.16 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 7.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be given a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. This is a positive change from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is presently 37.10%.

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.