Bank of Nova Scotia Acquires 607,475 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Bank of Nova Scotia raised its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 201.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 909,684 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 607,475 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $90,224,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Albion Financial Group UT lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 876.9% in the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 254 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in ConocoPhillips in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

NYSE:COP opened at $85.74 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. ConocoPhillips has a twelve month low of $81.72 and a twelve month high of $135.18. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $98.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $102.89. The stock has a market cap of $108.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.83.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 16.23% and a return on equity of 17.26%. As a group, research analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on COP. Raymond James cut ConocoPhillips from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $157.00 to $124.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays dropped their target price on ConocoPhillips from $137.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $131.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $127.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.84.

ConocoPhillips 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.