West Family Investments Inc. Purchases Shares of 3,891 ConocoPhillips $COP

West Family Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 3,891 shares of the energy producer’s stock, valued at approximately $405,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of COP. Tacita Capital Inc acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the second quarter worth $285,000. NewEdge Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the second quarter worth $2,285,000. Flossbach Von Storch SE purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the second quarter valued at $2,458,000. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 2nd quarter valued at $115,372,000. 82.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about ConocoPhillips

Here are the key news stories impacting ConocoPhillips this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Rising crude prices are supporting ConocoPhillips’ expected cash flow and earnings, providing the clearest near-term catalyst for the stock. ConocoPhillips gains as higher oil prices add to post-earnings momentum
• Positive Sentiment: Second-quarter adjusted earnings of $3.24 per share exceeded expectations, while $7.2 billion in operating cash flow, doubled share repurchases and a $0.84 quarterly dividend reinforced the company’s capital-return appeal. Full-year guidance was reaffirmed.
• Positive Sentiment: Argus raised its price target to $153 from $136 and maintained a Buy rating. The broader analyst consensus remains constructive, with a reported median target of $146 and no recent sell ratings. Argus raises ConocoPhillips price target
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and investors continue to cite ConocoPhillips’ low-cost inventory, LNG-related growth and potential cash-flow catalysts as support for its longer-term outlook. ConocoPhillips has low-cost inventory and a major cash flow catalyst ahead
• Neutral Sentiment: Aker BP’s agreement to acquire Apache and ConocoPhillips stakes offshore Norway could streamline the portfolio, although the immediate financial effect was not specified. Aker BP to buy Apache and ConocoPhillips stakes offshore Norway
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and execution risks are tempering the bullish outlook: the stock trades near its 52-week high, while investors are already paying a premium for earnings momentum and LNG growth. Is ConocoPhillips stock a buy as growth meets a premium valuation?
• Negative Sentiment: Insiders have reported 12 open-market sales and no purchases over the past six months, including substantial sales by senior executives. This may signal caution, although insider transactions can reflect compensation or diversification rather than a fundamental view.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on COP shares. Barclays lowered their price target on ConocoPhillips from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $160.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Roth Capital upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $124.00 to $130.00 in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $155.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $139.21.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

NYSE:COP opened at $135.00 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $162.18 billion, a PE ratio of 17.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.11. ConocoPhillips has a fifty-two week low of $85.57 and a fifty-two week high of $135.87. The company has a fifty day moving average of $114.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $117.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.54.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The energy producer reported $3.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $19.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.79 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 14.22% and a return on equity of 14.72%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 32.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.42 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.44%.

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.