ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 11,990,000 shares, a decline of 7.8% from the December 15th total of 13,000,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 6,600,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.8 days. Currently, 0.9% of the shares of the company are sold short.

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 0.1 %

COP traded up $0.15 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $105.76. The stock had a trading volume of 8,546,391 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,479,072. ConocoPhillips has a 1-year low of $94.23 and a 1-year high of $135.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $103.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $107.37.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.10. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 17.29%. The firm had revenue of $13.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.16 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This is a boost from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is 37.10%.

Insider Transactions at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, Director R A. Walker purchased 10,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $97.80 per share, with a total value of $1,017,120.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 38,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,716,400. This represents a 37.68 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Arjun N. Murti acquired 2,500 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $95.87 per share, with a total value of $239,675.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 21,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,061,205. This trade represents a 13.16 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ConocoPhillips

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in COP. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 19.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 66,928,793 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $7,046,263,000 after purchasing an additional 10,663,093 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 20.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,161,897 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $3,280,725,000 after acquiring an additional 5,240,016 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,733,928 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $2,601,639,000 after acquiring an additional 924,289 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 12.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,557,351 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,469,163,000 after acquiring an additional 1,506,599 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in ConocoPhillips by 59.7% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,456,011 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,311,369,000 after purchasing an additional 4,656,040 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $120.00 to $123.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Mizuho upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $132.00 to $134.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $136.00.

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.