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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 +32.52% 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:

Infinity Natural Resources (NYSE:INR) is the #1 top oil and gas stock out of 74 with a Zen Rating of A. Stocks with a rating of A have had an average return of +32.52% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Infinity Natural Resources (NYSE:INR) is: Value: B, Growth: B, Momentum: B, Sentiment: B, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Infinity Natural Resources (NYSE:INR) has a Due Diligence Score of 54, which is 23 points higher than the oil and gas industry average of 31.

INR passed 18 out of 33 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Infinity Natural Resources has seen its stock return 6.11% over the past year, underperforming other oil and gas stocks by -18 percentage points.

Infinity Natural Resources has an average 1 year price target of $22.33, an upside of 38.2% from Infinity Natural Resources's current stock price of $16.16.

Infinity Natural Resources stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 3 analysts covering Infinity Natural Resources, 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.

Mach Natural Resources (NYSE:MNR) is the #2 top oil and gas stock out of 74 with a Zen Rating of A. Stocks with a rating of A have had an average return of +32.52% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Mach Natural Resources (NYSE:MNR) is: Value: B, Growth: B, Momentum: C, Sentiment: A, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: B.

Mach Natural Resources (NYSE:MNR) has a Due Diligence Score of 33, which is 2 points higher than the oil and gas industry average of 31.

MNR passed 12 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Mach Natural Resources has seen its stock lose -3.51% over the past year, underperforming other oil and gas stocks by -28 percentage points.

Mach Natural Resources has an average 1 year price target of $16.00, an upside of 26.48% from Mach Natural Resources's current stock price of $12.65.

Mach Natural Resources stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 2 analysts covering Mach Natural Resources, 50% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 50% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Riley Exploration Permian (NYSEMKT:REPX) is the #3 top oil and gas stock out of 74 with a Zen Rating of B. Stocks with a rating of B have had an average return of +19.88% per year. Learn more.

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

Riley Exploration Permian (NYSEMKT:REPX) has a Due Diligence Score of 67, which is 36 points higher than the oil and gas industry average of 31.

REPX passed 24 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Riley Exploration Permian has seen its stock return 45.55% over the past year, overperforming other oil and gas stocks by 21 percentage points.

Riley Exploration Permian has an average 1 year price target of $49.50, an upside of 42% from Riley Exploration Permian's current stock price of $34.86.

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.

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 15.57%, which is 11 percentage points higher than the oil and gas industry average of 4.29%.

Mach Natural Resources's dividend payout ratio of 180.7% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Txo Partners (NYSE:TXO) has an annual dividend yield of 14.35%, which is 10 percentage points higher than the oil and gas industry average of 4.29%.

Txo Partners's dividend payout ratio of -397.7% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Vitesse Energy (NYSE:VTS) has an annual dividend yield of 11.79%, which is 8 percentage points higher than the oil and gas industry average of 4.29%.

Vitesse Energy's dividend payout ratio of 336% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Oil and gas stocks were down -3.48% in the last day, and down -9.46% over the last week. Riley Exploration Permian was the among the top losers in the oil & gas e&p industry, dropping -13.41% yesterday.

Shares of oil and gas companies are trading lower as the price of the commodity pulls back, as investors digest reports that the U.S. and Iran could meet for another round of peace talks after negotiations failed last weekend.

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:

Riley Exploration Permian (NYSEMKT:REPX) 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.

Riley Exploration Permian has a valuation score of 71, which is 40 points higher than the oil and gas industry average of 31. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Riley Exploration Permian's stock has gained 45.55% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the oil and gas industry by 21 percentage points.

Sm Energy Co (NYSE:SM) is the second 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 57, which is 26 points higher than the oil and gas industry average of 31. It passed 4 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Sm Energy Co's stock has gained 25.91% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the oil and gas industry by 2 percentage points.

Apa (NASDAQ:APA) 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.

Apa has a valuation score of 57, which is 26 points higher than the oil and gas industry average of 31. It passed 4 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Apa's stock has gained 143.62% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the oil and gas industry by 119 percentage points.

50% 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 21.93% over the next year.

2.86% of oil and gas stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 2.86% of oil and gas stocks are rated B (Buy), 75.71% are rated C (Hold), 14.29% are rated D (Sell), and 4.29% are rated F (Strong Sell).