Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Decreases Stock Position in ConocoPhillips $COP

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans trimmed its holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 1.9% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,079,989 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 40,363 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $196,746,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COP. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 40,382,724 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,623,946,000 after purchasing an additional 287,970 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,393,875 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,291,706,000 after buying an additional 224,201 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 31.4% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 10,778,664 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $966,267,000 after buying an additional 2,575,803 shares during the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA increased its position in ConocoPhillips by 66.0% during the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 7,883,455 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $707,461,000 after buying an additional 3,135,315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 4.0% in the second quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,424,232 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $577,471,000 after acquiring an additional 244,810 shares during the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director William H. Mcraven acquired 5,768 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $86.68 per share, for a total transaction of $499,970.24. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 5,768 shares in the company, valued at $499,970.24. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 500,708 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.50, for a total value of $46,315,490.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 325,972 shares in the company, valued at $30,152,410. This represents a 60.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting ConocoPhillips

Here are the key news stories impacting ConocoPhillips this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Federal judge cleared ConocoPhillips to proceed with its winter drilling program in Alaska, reducing near-term legal uncertainty that could have delayed production and spending. Federal judge rules that ConocoPhillips can proceed with winter drilling program
• Positive Sentiment: Regulatory clearance was echoed in coverage that a judge “green-lit” COP’s Alaska drilling program, further lowering execution risk for Arctic activity. Judge green-lights ConocoPhillips Alaska oil drilling program
• Positive Sentiment: Geopolitical risk has pushed oil prices higher (Iran/strait-of-Hormuz concerns), which benefits integrated E&P names like ConocoPhillips through stronger commodity realizations and cash flow. Oil Rallies On Iran War Fears – 5 Integrated Energy Giants With Big Dividends
• Neutral Sentiment: ConocoPhillips says its plans for four new Arctic wells are unaffected by the toppled rig, which suggests management expects limited near-term disruption to the development schedule. ConocoPhillips’ plans for 4 new Arctic wells unaffected by toppled rig, company says
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage notes the company called the Doyon rig destruction “a sad day” but downplayed major impacts; investors should watch for official damage/insurance updates. ConocoPhillips execs call Doyon oil rig destruction a ‘sad day,’ but no major impacts expected
• Negative Sentiment: An Arctic rig toppled and ignited a fire — an operational and reputational risk that could lead to added costs, regulatory scrutiny or delays if follow-up inspections or litigation arise. Monitor incident reports and any updates from regulators. As an Oil Rig Topples in the Alaskan Arctic and Ignites a Fire, Exploration There Continues
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts expect a year-over-year earnings decline for the upcoming quarter, which could cap near-term upside if results miss expectations or guidance is cautious. Analysts Estimate ConocoPhillips (COP) to Report a Decline in Earnings: What to Look Out for

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $117.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $110.96.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of COP stock opened at $104.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $128.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.32. ConocoPhillips has a one year low of $79.88 and a one year high of $106.20. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $94.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $93.25.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The energy producer reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $15.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.51 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 14.25% and a return on equity of 13.64%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.78 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th were given a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. This is a boost from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 17th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.52%.

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.