Hedge Funds Are Buying These 5 Energy Stocks

4. ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 67

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) is a Houston-based energy company which deals in the exploration and production of crude oil, bitumen, natural gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and natural gas liquids around the globe. The company shares have registered impressive gains in the last 12 months on the back of soaring energy prices, rising 93.31% as of June 2.

EPS for the first quarter was recorded at $3.27, beating analysts’ forecasts by $0.05. ConocoPhillips’ (NYSE:COP) revenue for the quarter stood at $19.29 billion, up 82.7% year-on-year and outperforming Street estimates by $929.7 million.

67 hedge funds held total stakes worth $2.58 billion in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) at the end of the first quarter, showing improving investor confidence in the energy firm over the previous quarter where 56 hedge funds owned $1.55 billion worth of stakes in the company. Ric Dillon’s Diamond Hill Capital was the most prominent shareholder of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) at the close of the first quarter, boasting a stake worth more than $702 million.

On April 25, Raymond James analyst John Freeman kept a ‘Strong Buy’ rating on ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) shares, and bumped the price target to $160 from $120. He notes that a diverse asset base and A-rated debt places the firm in “a league of its own,” and full exposure to strip pricing should continue to generate free cash flow.

Investment firm ClearBridge Investments was all praises for ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) in its Q1 2022 investor letter. The fund said:

“The energy sector, which led a strong market in 2021, generated even more dramatic relative performance in the quarter, advancing 39% and leading the benchmark Russell 1000 Value Index. Years of restrained investment in the energy sector, combined with a strong post-pandemic recovery, contributed to the higher commodity prices. The upward pressure escalated with the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Our energy holdings ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) benefited from higher commodity prices and was among the top contributors to first-quarter performance.”