Investors should always look for a combination of alluring factors in a stock such as those offered by Conoco Phillips (NYSE: COP), a major oil firm based in Houston.

First of all, it is a major oil company.  The demand for oil and natural gas will only increase.  That makes top performers in the sector such as ConocoPhillips very attractive to long term investors.

It is always alluring when Warren Buffett is a major shareholder.

The Oracle of Omaha owns a significant block of ConocoPhillips stock.  He also owns large chunks of ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) and Suncor Energy (NYSE: SU).  ExxonMobil is the largest oil and natural gas company in the world.  Suncor Energy is a major oil firm operating from Canada.  Warren Buffett is one of the best investors in history.  It is a positive sign to be owning shares of the same company as Warren Buffett.

ConocoPhillips also pays a dividend of nearly 4.3 percent, which puts it in even more rarified company.

That is much higher than the dividend yield for ExxonMobil or Suncor Energy.  In addition, ConocoPhillips has of increasing the amount of the dividend.  That means that income investors who own for the long term get a raise every time the dividend amount is increased.  This is the reward for long term investors not selling shares of ConocoPhillips.

It is certainly a good time to be buying ConocoPhillips as the share price is down for the last week, month, quarter, six months, and year of market action (chart below).

This a huge opportunity for long term investors to buy at a significant discount.  The outlook for oil is very bullish for the future due to projected global growth.  The robust dividend yield makes it an even more appealing investment as the total return is augmented by the income flow.