ConocoPhillips $COP Position Boosted by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 0.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,331,729 shares of the energy producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,972 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $220,558,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of COP. Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new position in ConocoPhillips during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 58.0% during 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 in the last quarter. BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Bfsg LLC bought a new position in ConocoPhillips during the third quarter worth $36,000. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other ConocoPhillips news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 500,708 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.50, for a total transaction of $46,315,490.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 325,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,152,410. The trade was a 60.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on COP. Roth Mkm lowered shares of ConocoPhillips from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $112.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Capital One Financial boosted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $111.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $98.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $116.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $117.54.

Key Headlines Impacting ConocoPhillips

Here are the key news stories impacting ConocoPhillips this week:

• Positive Sentiment: UBS raised its price target on COP to $144 with a Buy rating, giving the shares clear analyst support and a sizable upside thesis that likely helped the rally. UBS price target raise (Benzinga)
• Positive Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets reiterated/forecast strong price appreciation for COP, and a separate report notes a price‑target raise to $135 — multiple upgrades are boosting investor confidence and inflows. BMO forecast (American Banking News)
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors and outlets are reassessing COP’s valuation after the recent share gains; analysis pieces flag the stock’s strong momentum but question how much cash‑flow upside is already priced in — useful context for longer‑term holders. Assessing ConocoPhillips Valuation (Yahoo Finance)
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector commentary notes upside if oil revisits $100/bbl — that scenario would materially boost cash flow and dividends for major producers like COP, but it remains speculative while WTI trades around $80. If Oil Hits $100 (247WallSt)
• Negative Sentiment: Jim Cramer flagged an oil sell‑off as the start of a broader bull market while noting shares of large names including ConocoPhillips are sliding in that environment — short‑term sentiment swings in oil are creating volatility for COP. Jim Cramer: oil sell-off context (Benzinga)
• Negative Sentiment: Louisiana officials say a major coastal‑damage lawsuit with ConocoPhillips is close to settlement — a potential legal payout or remediation obligation is an overhang that could pressure sentiment until terms are disclosed. Louisiana lawsuit settlement near (NOLA)
• Negative Sentiment: MarketWatch notes COP underperformed peers on a recent session — relative weakness versus competitors can trigger short‑term fund flows away from the stock even as the broader sector rallies. COP underperformance vs peers (MarketWatch)

ConocoPhillips Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of ConocoPhillips stock opened at $117.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.14. ConocoPhillips has a 1-year low of $79.88 and a 1-year high of $122.50. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $104.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $96.17. The company has a market capitalization of $144.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.49, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.27.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The energy producer reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.23 by ($0.21). The business had revenue of $13.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.35 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 11.90% and a net margin of 12.98%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.98 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 18th were given a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 18th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.00%.

About ConocoPhillips

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.