AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Reduces Holdings in ConocoPhillips $COP

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd reduced its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 35.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 50,231 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 27,781 shares during the quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $4,751,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the second quarter worth $25,000. Bogart Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 136.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 315 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the period. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 58.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 316 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 249.5% in the 2nd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 325 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COP has been the topic of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 15th. Johnson Rice lowered ConocoPhillips from an “accumulate” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $108.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $110.96.

More ConocoPhillips News

Here are the key news stories impacting ConocoPhillips this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Federal judge cleared ConocoPhillips Alaska to proceed with its winter exploration/drilling program in the National Petroleum Reserve–Alaska, preserving lease rights and near-term exploration options that could support future production and reserves. Federal judge rules that ConocoPhillips can proceed with winter drilling program
• Positive Sentiment: Geopolitical risk (Iran tensions) pushed oil prices higher, a tailwind for integrated producers like COP that boosts revenue/EBITDA and supports cash flow and shareholder returns. Oil Rallies On Iran War Fears
• Positive Sentiment: Broker commentary remains constructive — a Wolfe Research note highlighted upside potential for COP shares, which can support investor sentiment and buying interest. ConocoPhillips Stock Price Expected to Rise, Wolfe Research Analyst Says
• Neutral Sentiment: Headline coverage and elevated investor searches (Zacks/MarketBeat summaries) show increased attention on COP ahead of earnings — higher visibility can amplify moves in either direction but is not directional by itself. ConocoPhillips Increases Despite Market Slip
• Neutral Sentiment: The company is scheduled to report quarterly results soon; timing and beats/misses will be the primary near-term catalysts. Analysts’ expectation of lower EPS sets up a lower bar for sentiment if management provides reassuring guidance. ConocoPhillips Expected to Announce Quarterly Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks flags that analysts expect a decline in earnings for the upcoming quarter — if results disappoint or guidance is weak, the stock could reverse gains. Analysts Estimate ConocoPhillips to Report a Decline in Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Operational and reputational risk after a mobile drilling rig toppled on tundra during transport; while ConocoPhillips says the incident won’t materially affect plans, the accident revived regulatory and environmental scrutiny that could raise costs or delays. Rig crash revives concerns about Alaska oil exploration

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

NYSE:COP opened at $102.85 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $94.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $93.18. ConocoPhillips has a 1-year low of $79.88 and a 1-year high of $106.20. The firm has a market cap of $127.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.32.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The energy producer reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 14.25% and a return on equity of 13.64%. The company had revenue of $15.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.78 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th were paid a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 17th. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. This is a boost from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.52%.

Insider Transactions at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 500,708 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.50, for a total transaction of $46,315,490.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 325,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,152,410. This represents a 60.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director William H. Mcraven acquired 5,768 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $86.68 per share, for a total transaction of $499,970.24. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 5,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $499,970.24. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Company Profile

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is a Houston-based international energy company focused on exploration and production of oil and natural gas. Formed in 2002 through the merger of Conoco Inc and Phillips Petroleum Company, the firm operates as an independent upstream company that explores for, develops and produces crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids across a portfolio of global assets.

The company’s activities span conventional and unconventional resources and include onshore and offshore operations in multiple regions around the world.