Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) saw some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders bought 73,214 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 366% compared to the typical volume of 15,723 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on COP shares. Susquehanna lifted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $133.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $139.00 price target (up from $132.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $145.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $142.76.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

COP stock traded up $0.37 during trading on Thursday, hitting $123.43. The company had a trading volume of 5,430,489 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,355,957. The business has a 50 day moving average of $124.53 and a 200 day moving average of $117.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $144.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. ConocoPhillips has a fifty-two week low of $97.42 and a fifty-two week high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The energy producer reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.32. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 18.40% and a return on equity of 20.85%. The firm had revenue of $15.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.47 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.71 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 9.1 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.53%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 607,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.91, for a total value of $76,427,370.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 6,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $853,669.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other ConocoPhillips news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 607,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.91, for a total transaction of $76,427,370.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,780 shares in the company, valued at $853,669.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nicholas G. Olds sold 12,150 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.44, for a total transaction of $1,536,246.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,836,161.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 700,775 shares of company stock worth $87,615,169. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 45.8% in the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 261 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Sloy Dahl & Holst LLC increased its position in ConocoPhillips by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sloy Dahl & Holst LLC now owns 2,629 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $315,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. raised its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. now owns 2,232 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 22.1% during the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 475 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KLCM Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2.8% in the third quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 3,305 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $396,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

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.