Willis Investment Counsel Buys 5,461 Shares of ConocoPhillips $COP

Willis Investment Counsel boosted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 256,761 shares of the energy producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,461 shares during the quarter. Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $24,035,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 58.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 316 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of COP opened at $125.19 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.30. ConocoPhillips has a twelve month low of $79.88 and a twelve month high of $135.87. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $117.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $101.19. The firm has a market cap of $152.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.75, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.19.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The energy producer reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by ($0.21). ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 11.90%. The company had revenue of $13.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.98 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th were issued a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Kelly Brunetti Rose sold 7,700 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.03, for a total value of $1,001,231.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 25,284 shares in the company, valued at $3,287,678.52. This trade represents a 23.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Andrew D. Lundquist sold 34,500 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.68, for a total transaction of $4,128,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 17,469 shares in the company, valued at $2,090,689.92. This trade represents a 66.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 734,891 shares of company stock valued at $93,345,692 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on COP. Raymond James Financial raised their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Capital One Financial lifted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $116.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $108.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $127.08.

Key Headlines Impacting ConocoPhillips

Here are the key news stories impacting ConocoPhillips this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analysts raised price targets and kept bullish ratings, signaling continued upside potential (RBC to $152, Piper Sandler to $157, BMO to $140). Increased targets reflect stronger earnings/cash‑flow expectations and support from recent oil-price strength. RBC raises price target Piper Sandler raises price target BMO raises price target
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional/analyst bullishness continues — recent notes from Wolfe Research and BMO highlight strong mid‑to‑longer‑term price-appreciation forecasts, reinforcing buy-side interest. Wolfe Research forecast BMO forecast
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector backdrop remains constructive: energy stocks and the XLE ETF saw strong Q1 gains and analysts expect accelerating earnings and capital returns, which supports COP longer term but may already be priced in. XLE / sector outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Immediate selloff driven by a drop in crude after U.S.-Iran ceasefire headlines reduced geopolitical risk; lower oil prices hit U.S. producers in premarket trading and pressured COP. This news is the primary trigger for today’s weakness. TipRanks: crude drops on ceasefire Yahoo: COP stock falls amid market uptick
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation/questions after a ~41% one‑year rally: some coverage warns the strong run may limit near‑term upside and raises the chance of mean‑reversion if oil prices slip further. Investors should weigh current targets against elevated multiples. Yahoo: Is it too late?

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.