Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Decreases Stock Holdings in ConocoPhillips $COP

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System cut its position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 66,600 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 2,000 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $5,977,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in 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 buying an additional 222 shares during the period. Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the first quarter valued at $31,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the first quarter valued at $35,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the first quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd grew its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 418.6% in the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 363 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

ConocoPhillips stock opened at $93.76 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $92.76. ConocoPhillips has a 52 week low of $79.88 and a 52 week high of $115.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market cap of $117.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.59, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.62.

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

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th were issued a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Mizuho reduced their price target on ConocoPhillips from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on ConocoPhillips from $114.00 to $113.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Melius initiated coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $117.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded ConocoPhillips from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 20th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.23.

About ConocoPhillips

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.