Billionaire Ray Dalio’s Top 5 Energy Stock Picks

3. ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Bridgewater Associates’ Stake Value: $44,241,000

Percentage of Bridgewater Associates’ 13F Portfolio: 0.22%

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) is one of the world’s leading independent exploration and production companies, with operations in 13 countries. The company has a strong track record of delivering shareholder value through a disciplined investment strategy and a commitment to operational excellence. The company has a trailing twelve-month operating margin of 35% and an ROE of 38.75%. As of November 11, the stock is yielding 1.77% and has gained 81.59% year to date.

On November 3, ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.51 per common share, up 10.9% from the prior dividend of $0.46. The dividend is payable on December 1 to shareholders of record on November 15. The company also added a $20 billion share repurchase authorization to its existing share repurchase program. ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) has free cash flows of $18.4 billion.

As of September 30, Bridgewater Associates has stakes of $44.24 million in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) and the investment covers 0.22% of Ray Dalio’s 13F portfolio. ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) is ranked among Ray Dalio’s top energy stock picks.

Here is what ClearBridge Investments had to say about ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) in its third-quarter 2022 investor letter:

“ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) handily outperformed the energy sector, which led the value benchmark. Its exposure to natural gas helped the stock perform more in line with natural gas E&Ps, which led the sector due to the European energy crisis and U.S. shale gas being considered a secure long-term source of liquid natural gas. In addition to COP’s low-cost resource base, conservative balance sheet and experienced management team, we appreciate its strong focus on ESG measures, which we believe is a good indicator of the quality of a company’s business model and management team.

Specifically, we appreciate solid governance practices with compensation metrics emphasizing ROCE and relative total shareholder return, the board’s effective oversight of management as well as the company’s methane flaring leadership. COP is investing in field electrification and carbon capture across its portfolio, with ambitions to deliver oil production with a CO2 intensity of sub-5 kg/BOE, which would be one of the lowest emission sources of supply in the world.”