Principal Street Partners LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Principal Street Partners LLC lessened its position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 11.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,081 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 994 shares during the period. Principal Street Partners LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $801,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 45,847,572 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $4,546,706,000 after purchasing an additional 5,549,078 shares in the last quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in ConocoPhillips by 59.8% in the 4th quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,166 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,901,000 after buying an additional 7,174 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 4th quarter worth $1,767,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 519,371 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $50,345,000 after buying an additional 54,196 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baugh & Associates LLC raised its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 16.2% during the 4th quarter. Baugh & Associates LLC now owns 49,839 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $4,769,000 after buying an additional 6,956 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays cut their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $133.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 target price on ConocoPhillips in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $127.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on ConocoPhillips from $116.00 to $111.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.74.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of COP opened at $90.33 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. ConocoPhillips has a 52 week low of $79.88 and a 52 week high of $122.11. The stock has a market cap of $114.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.60, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $93.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $98.84.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The energy producer reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.04. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 16.23% and a return on equity of 17.26%. The business had revenue of $16.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.74 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.05 EPS. On average, analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is 39.64%.

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.