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Best Oil and Gas Stocks to Buy Now (2026)

Top oil and gas stocks in 2026 ranked by overall Zen Rating. "A" Rated stocks have returned an average of +28.50% per year, and are the best oil and gas stocks to buy now. Learn More.

According to Zen Ratings, our proprietary rating system that evaluates 115 factors proven to drive growth in stocks and assigns each stock in our system an overall letter grade as well as 7 individual Component Grades for Value, Growth, Momentum, Sentiment, Safety, Financials, and proprietary AI algorithms, the 3 best oil stocks to buy right now are:

Apa (NASDAQ:APA) is the #1 top oil and gas stock out of 75 with a Zen Rating of A. Stocks with a rating of A have had an average return of +28.5% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Apa (NASDAQ:APA) is: Value: B, Growth: C, Momentum: B, Sentiment: B, Safety: C, Financials: A, and AI: B.

Apa (NASDAQ:APA) has a Due Diligence Score of 45, which is 14 points higher than the oil and gas industry average of 31.

APA passed 17 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Apa has seen its stock return 82.96% over the past year, overperforming other oil and gas stocks by 72 percentage points.

Apa has an average 1 year price target of $47.67, an upside of 7% from Apa's current stock price of $44.55.

Apa stock has a consensus Hold recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 19 analysts covering Apa, 21.05% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 5.26% have issued a Buy, 63.16% have issued a hold, while 5.26% have issued a Sell rating, and 5.26% have issued a Strong Sell.

Riley Exploration Permian (NYSEMKT:REPX) is the #2 top oil and gas stock out of 75 with a Zen Rating of A. Stocks with a rating of A have had an average return of +28.5% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Riley Exploration Permian (NYSEMKT:REPX) is: Value: B, Growth: C, Momentum: B, Sentiment: C, Safety: D, Financials: B, and AI: B.

Riley Exploration Permian (NYSEMKT:REPX) has a Due Diligence Score of 57, which is 26 points higher than the oil and gas industry average of 31.

REPX passed 21 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Riley Exploration Permian has seen its stock return 62.88% over the past year, overperforming other oil and gas stocks by 52 percentage points.

Riley Exploration Permian has an average 1 year price target of $43.00, an upside of 6.28% from Riley Exploration Permian's current stock price of $40.46.

Riley Exploration Permian stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 2 analysts covering Riley Exploration Permian, 100% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 0% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) is the #3 top oil and gas stock out of 75 with a Zen Rating of A. Stocks with a rating of A have had an average return of +28.5% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) is: Value: C, Growth: B, Momentum: C, Sentiment: B, Safety: C, Financials: B, and AI: A.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) has a Due Diligence Score of 39, which is 8 points higher than the oil and gas industry average of 31.

OXY passed 14 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Occidental Petroleum has seen its stock return 33.4% over the past year, overperforming other oil and gas stocks by 23 percentage points.

Occidental Petroleum has an average 1 year price target of $72.39, an upside of 29.82% from Occidental Petroleum's current stock price of $55.76.

Occidental Petroleum stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 13 analysts covering Occidental Petroleum, 38.46% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 23.08% have issued a Buy, 38.46% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Out of 41 oil and gas stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 oil and gas stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

Mach Natural Resources (NYSE:MNR) has an annual dividend yield of 19.59%, which is 15 percentage points higher than the oil and gas industry average of 4.74%.

Mach Natural Resources's dividend payout ratio of 191.5% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Evolution Petroleum (NYSEMKT:EPM) has an annual dividend yield of 13.56%, which is 9 percentage points higher than the oil and gas industry average of 4.74%. Evolution Petroleum's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% one times in the last 10 years. Evolution Petroleum's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Evolution Petroleum's dividend payout ratio of -600% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Vitesse Energy (NYSE:VTS) has an annual dividend yield of 12.66%, which is 8 percentage points higher than the oil and gas industry average of 4.74%.

Vitesse Energy's dividend payout ratio of -163.3% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Oil and gas stocks were up 0.59% in the last day, and down -9.66% over the last week. Ckx Lands was the among the top gainers in the oil & gas e&p industry, gaining 58.15% yesterday.

CKX Lands shares are trading higher after the company and Brad Jacobs-led Jacobs Private Equity II announced that JPE and minority co-investors have agreed to invest $1 billion in cash in CKX.

Based on the Valuation rating, one of the 7 components of a stocks overall Zen Ratings grade, which evaluates factors including estimated earnings yield, earnings before interest and taxes/enterprise value, cash flow yield, free cash flow to price, and price-to-earnings growth (PEG ratio), the 3 most undervalued oil and gas stocks right now are:

Sm Energy Co (NYSE:SM) is the most undervalued oil and gas stock based on its Valuation Rating of A. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Sm Energy Co has a valuation score of 71, which is 41 points higher than the oil and gas industry average of 30. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Sm Energy Co's stock has gained 57.89% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the oil and gas industry by 47 percentage points.

Chord Energy (NASDAQ:CHRD) is the second most undervalued oil and gas stock based on its Valuation Rating of B. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Chord Energy has a valuation score of 43, which is 13 points higher than the oil and gas industry average of 30. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Chord Energy's stock has gained 57.56% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the oil and gas industry by 47 percentage points.

Vista Energy Sab De CV (NYSE:VIST) is the third most undervalued oil and gas stock based on its Valuation Rating of B. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Vista Energy Sab De CV has a valuation score of 57, which is 27 points higher than the oil and gas industry average of 30. It passed 4 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Vista Energy Sab De CV's stock has gained 17.6% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the oil and gas industry by 7 percentage points.

55.32% of oil and gas stocks rated by analysts are a strong buy right now. On average, analysts expect oil and gas stocks to rise by 28.45% over the next year.

8.82% of oil and gas stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 30.88% of oil and gas stocks are rated B (Buy), 45.59% are rated C (Hold), 7.35% are rated D (Sell), and 7.35% are rated F (Strong Sell).