Encompass Capital Advisors LLC Purchases New Shares in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Encompass Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 525,000 shares of the energy producer’s stock, valued at approximately $60,050,000. ConocoPhillips comprises about 3.2% of Encompass Capital Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 35.8% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 32,192,580 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $4,097,473,000 after purchasing an additional 8,479,963 shares during the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 512.8% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 3,737,026 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $433,757,000 after buying an additional 3,127,165 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 9.6% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 21,252,822 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $2,705,059,000 after acquiring an additional 1,856,085 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 46.0% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,219,929 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $409,833,000 after acquiring an additional 1,015,158 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 34.7% during the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,762,431 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $351,602,000 after acquiring an additional 712,062 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on COP shares. Mizuho decreased their target price on ConocoPhillips from $132.00 to $129.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Argus raised shares of ConocoPhillips to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $120.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $158.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $147.00 price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $142.29.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of COP opened at $105.73 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $122.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.22. ConocoPhillips has a 52-week low of $101.29 and a 52-week high of $135.18. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $109.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $116.55.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The energy producer reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $14.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.96 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 18.18% and a return on equity of 20.81%. ConocoPhillips’s revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.84 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 8.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Timothy A. Leach sold 55,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.11, for a total transaction of $6,000,105.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 455,909 shares in the company, valued at $49,288,321.99. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

ConocoPhillips Company Profile

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.