Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp Sells 2,730 Shares of ConocoPhillips $COP

Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp lowered its position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 13.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,255 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 2,730 shares during the period. Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $1,548,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 341.5% in the first quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 287 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 249.5% in the second quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 325 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

COP opened at $86.53 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $94.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $91.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.27. ConocoPhillips has a 52 week low of $79.88 and a 52 week high of $115.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $108.07 billion, a PE ratio of 11.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.62.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The energy producer reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.06. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 15.26% and a return on equity of 14.60%. The firm had revenue of $14.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.98 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th were issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is currently 41.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on COP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $114.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $122.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of ConocoPhillips from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $115.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Capital One Financial raised their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $111.00 to $112.00 in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $115.00.

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.