Smead Capital Management Inc. Buys 74,045 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Smead Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,196,884 shares of the energy producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 74,045 shares during the quarter. ConocoPhillips accounts for 3.3% of Smead Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. Smead Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $231,288,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in COP. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 19.1% in the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 28,601 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $3,640,000 after acquiring an additional 4,578 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in ConocoPhillips in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,021,000. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 83.8% in the second quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 16,427 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,879,000 after acquiring an additional 7,490 shares during the last quarter. TCW Group Inc. increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 37.8% in the second quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 30,026 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $3,434,000 after acquiring an additional 8,231 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Doheny Asset Management CA bought a new position in ConocoPhillips in the second quarter valued at approximately $815,000. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on COP shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $140.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, September 13th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $153.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.63.

ConocoPhillips Stock Up 1.3 %

COP opened at $113.76 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $130.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.53, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $108.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $111.53. ConocoPhillips has a twelve month low of $101.29 and a twelve month high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $13.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.97 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 19.53%. ConocoPhillips’s revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.16 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This is a positive change from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is 37.10%.

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.