5 Safest Stocks To Invest In

1. ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 64

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) is an American energy company that produces, transports, and markets crude oil, bitumen, natural gas, liquefied natural gas, and natural gas liquids worldwide. On November 29, ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) and QatarEnergy announced agreements to supply 2 million metric tons of liquefied natural gas per year to Germany for 15 years starting in 2026, as Germany seeks to fulfill its future gas needs following the conclusion of its energy relationship with Russia.

On November 29, Citi analyst Alastair Syme raised the price target on ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) to $160 from $132 and kept a Buy rating on the shares. The market rotation into energy equities has “further to run, even though names in our US coverage already sit at all-time highs,” the analyst told investors. History suggests that energy equities usually perform well in an earnings recession, which is Citi’s base-case for 2023, wrote the analyst.

According to Insider Monkey’s data, ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) was part of 64 hedge fund portfolios at the end of the third quarter of 2022, compared to 71 funds in the prior quarter. Ric Dillon’s Diamond Hill Capital is a significant position holder in the company, with 6.3 million shares worth $646.7 million. It is one of the safest stocks preferred by elite investors. 

ClearBridge Investments made the following comment about ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) in its Q3 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.”

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