5 Oil and Gas Stocks to Buy According to Ray Dalio

3. ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 71

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) is an American hydrocarbon exploration company with operations in around 15 countries. As of the second quarter of 2022, 71 hedge funds had a stake in the company, compared to 67 in the previous quarter. Bridgewater Associates increased its stake by 196% in the second quarter of 2022, bringing the total position to $97.6 million, representing 0.41% of the firm’s portfolio. 

On August 4, ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) declared a $0.46 per share quarterly dividend, payable on September 1 to shareholders of record on August 16. The company also announced a fourth-quarter VROC of $1.46, to be paid out on October 14. As of August 18, ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) has a dividend yield of 1.84%.

In the second quarter of 2022,  ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) made shareholder returns of $3.3 billion, which included $1 billion in ordinary dividends and VROC and $2.3 billion in stock repurchases. Additionally, the company is expecting to make a $5 billion increase in return of capital to shareholders by the end of 2022.

On August 18, Mizuho analyst Vincent Lovaglio reiterated a Buy rating on ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)’s shares. However, the analyst lowered his price target to $138 from $148.

Here is what Diamond Hill Capital had to say about ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) in its Q1 2022 investor letter:

“We redeployed capital into ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP), which was trading at a discount to our estimate of intrinsic value and is well positioned over the long run due to its low-risk asset base.”