Wellspring Financial Advisors LLC Invests $689,000 in ConocoPhillips $COP

Wellspring Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 7,356 shares of the energy producer’s stock, valued at approximately $689,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in COP. Capital International Investors increased its position in ConocoPhillips by 18.2% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 45,645,397 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $4,318,239,000 after buying an additional 7,037,873 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 31.3% during the 3rd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 10,351,010 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $979,102,000 after purchasing an additional 2,467,555 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 20.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,994,674 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,228,886,000 after purchasing an additional 2,216,010 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $135,265,000. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the 4th quarter worth approximately $128,470,000. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about ConocoPhillips

Here are the key news stories impacting ConocoPhillips this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Crude-oil sentiment improved as Middle East supply disruptions and tight inventory conditions kept a floor under oil prices, benefiting large U.S. exploration and production names like ConocoPhillips. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlighted ConocoPhillips as an energy name positioned to navigate industry pressures, reinforcing the view that COP is relatively well placed versus peers. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Broader energy-sector strength has helped improve sentiment toward oil stocks, with the sector outperforming the market this year and drawing renewed investor attention to names like COP. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary noted that ConocoPhillips did not fall as much as oil prices during a prior pullback, suggesting the stock may be trading more resiliently than crude itself, but without a major company-specific catalyst. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: There was also a backdrop of mixed investor positioning, including significant institutional trimming in recent quarters, which can weigh on sentiment even as near-term oil prices improve. Article Title

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 506,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.26, for a total value of $64,495,368.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 6,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $869,822.10. This represents a 98.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Andrew D. Lundquist sold 34,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.68, for a total value of $4,128,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 17,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,090,689.92. This represents a 66.39% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 671,869 shares of company stock valued at $85,857,406 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on COP shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $149.00 to $152.00 in a report on Friday, May 1st. Zacks Research lowered ConocoPhillips from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Raymond James Financial cut their target price on ConocoPhillips from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research boosted their target price on ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.48.

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 2.6%

NYSE:COP opened at $119.82 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $145.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.11. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $121.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $110.21. ConocoPhillips has a 1 year low of $85.57 and a 1 year high of $135.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The energy producer reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.17. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 11.39% and a net margin of 12.10%.The company had revenue of $15.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.09 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 10.03 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.05%.

About ConocoPhillips

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is a Houston-based international energy company focused on exploration and production of oil and natural gas. Formed in 2002 through the merger of Conoco Inc and Phillips Petroleum Company, the firm operates as an independent upstream company that explores for, develops and produces crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids across a portfolio of global assets.

The company’s activities span conventional and unconventional resources and include onshore and offshore operations in multiple regions around the world.