I added ConocoPhillips (COP) to my Dividend Income portfolio https://jubakpicks.com/jubak-dividend-income-portfolio/ on January 11 because what was then a relatively pessimistic view of growth in global economy had hit oil prices and thus the stocks of oil companies. On January 11, ConocoPhillips shares paid a 4.51% dividend yield.
Since then sentiment on global economic growth has turned up and so have the prices of oil and oil stocks. Shares of ConocoPhillips are up 4.8% from the January 11 close to the close on January 25. That has reduced the yield to 4.32%.
I still like these shares as a dividend income play, however, even at this slightly higher price. Through a series of asset sales and the May spin off of its refining assets into a separate company, Phillips 66 (PSX), ConocoPhillips has turned itself into the biggest U.S.-based independent exploration and production company. With that comes big exposure to the U.S. onshore oil boom—ConocoPhillips has big holdings in the Permian Basin, in Eagle Ford and in the Williston Basin (which includes120 wells in the Bakken formation of North Dakota.) ConocoPhillips also has significant assets in Canada’s oil sands, the Gulf of Mexico, Africa, and Asia.
ConocoPhillips does not look like it will grow reserves or production as quickly as some of the smaller, more concentrated U.S. independents such as Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD) or Denbury Resources (DNR). If you’re looking for a pure price appreciation play, those stocks are a better bet.
But ConocoPhillips does have one feature that the shares of those smaller companies don’t—a hefty dividend. Pioneer Natural Resources and Denbury Resources pay a dividend of 0.07% and 0%, respectively. I think ConocoPhillips offers investors the best combination of exposure to the U.S. oil boom and income.
Full disclosure: I don’t own shares of any of the companies mentioned in this post in my personal portfolio. The mutual fund I manage, Jubak Global Equity Fund http://jubakfund.com/, may or may not now own positions in any stock mentioned in this post. The fund did not own shares of any stock mentioned in this post as of the end of September. For a full list of the stocks in the fund as of the end of September see the fund’s portfolio at http://jubakfund.com/about-the-fund/holdings/
