5 Best LNG and LNG Shipping Stocks To Buy Now

4. ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 62

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP), headquartered in Houston, Texas, operates as an independent exploration and production (E&P) company. It is actively involved in the worldwide exploration, production, transportation, and marketing of crude oil, bitumen, natural gas, natural gas liquids, and liquefied natural gas.

On November 2, ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) surpassed Wall Street’s expectations for third-quarter profit and announced a 14% increase in its quarterly dividend. This move led to a more than 5% increase in the company’s shares. ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) noted that it has the potential to maintain this elevated dividend level through 2024, contingent on oil and gas price dynamics.

A total of 62 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey had stakes in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) as of the end of the third quarter of 2023. The biggest stakeholder of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) was Natixis Global Asset Management’s Harris Associates which owns a $1.61 billion stake in the company.

Oakmark Select Fund made the following comment about ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) in its second quarter 2023 investor letter:

“ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) is one of the largest and most efficient exploration and production companies in the country. The company has an extensive resource base of high-quality drilling inventory in the U.S. and various international locations as well as a growing liquified natural gas business. In our view, the depth and quality of ConocoPhillips’s inventory is a competitive differentiator that is not fully captured in today’s share price. Over the next 10 years, we believe ConocoPhillips will be able to return more than 100% of its current market cap to shareholders via dividends and share repurchases while growing its production at a mid-single-digit annual pace. We believe ConocoPhillips is also among the best managed companies in the oil and gas industry and we are impressed by its history of accretive capital allocation under CEO Ryan Lance. The stock has meaningfully underperformed the broader market year-to-date and is an attractive addition to our portfolio.”