Allstate Corp Buys New Shares in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Allstate Corp bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 38,830 shares of the energy producer’s stock, valued at approximately $3,851,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 42.7% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 103,553 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $10,902,000 after buying an additional 31,011 shares in the last quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 59.8% in the 4th quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,166 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,901,000 after acquiring an additional 7,174 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 8,855 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $878,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,474,270 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $155,211,000 after purchasing an additional 32,948 shares during the period. Finally, Fiduciary Alliance LLC lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 186,535 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $18,499,000 after purchasing an additional 22,378 shares during the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on COP shares. TD Cowen started coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, January 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James lowered 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on ConocoPhillips from $132.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Mizuho upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $132.00 to $134.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $131.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $132.95.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of NYSE COP opened at $102.37 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $98.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $103.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $130.26 billion, a PE ratio of 13.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.14. ConocoPhillips has a fifty-two week low of $86.81 and a fifty-two week high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 16.23% and a return on equity of 17.26%. As a group, equities analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were given a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is 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.