ConocoPhillips: Why the Sell-off?

Wow, I go hiking and fly-fishing in the South San Juan Wilderness for four days and come back to this?! ConocoPhillips (COP) was at $88 when I departed and now that I am back in Wi-Fi space I log in to find it trading at $81 and change? What in the world happened? I figure oil must have dropped to $50/barrel or that natural gas must be trading at $5. Hmmm... nope, oil is at $130... natural gas at $10.60. Perhaps COP cut the dividend? Nope... no news of that either. The dividend is yielding over 2% and if history is any indication, more dividend rate increases are surely in the cards.

So, why the selloff in COP? How come a company that is expected to earn $12/share in 2008 is trading at $82? Has management lost its head? Nope - CEO Jim Mulva continues to make deals in foreign energy markets that other oil companies can only dream about. Are people not buying Conoco gasoline? Well, if the Conoco stations here in Colorado are any indication, they are doing a very brisk business (of course I always fill up with COP gasoline). It's a small point, but Conoco stations are prevalent in the areas of Colorado that are growing gangbusters due to the energy plays being made these days.