Vicus Capital Purchases Shares of 2,163 ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Vicus Capital purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,163 shares of the energy producer’s stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of COP. Albion Financial Group UT grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 876.9% during the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 254 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 80.5% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 343 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE COP opened at $96.39 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.29. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $100.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $105.85. ConocoPhillips has a fifty-two week low of $94.23 and a fifty-two week high of $135.18. The company has a market cap of $110.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.37, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.24%. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is currently 40.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on COP. UBS Group dropped their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $137.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $120.00 to $123.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Mizuho raised ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $132.00 to $134.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Raymond James lowered ConocoPhillips from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $157.00 to $124.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Arjun N. Murti bought 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $95.87 per share, with a total value of $239,675.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 21,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,061,205. The trade was a 13.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director R A. Walker bought 10,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $97.80 per share, for a total transaction 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.