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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:

Riley Exploration Permian (NYSEMKT:REPX) 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 Riley Exploration Permian (NYSEMKT:REPX) is: Value: A, Growth: B, Momentum: B, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Riley Exploration Permian (NYSEMKT:REPX) has a Due Diligence Score of 61, which is 30 points higher than the oil and gas industry average of 31.

REPX passed 22 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Riley Exploration Permian has seen its stock return 57.89% over the past year, overperforming other oil and gas stocks by 43 percentage points.

Riley Exploration Permian has an average 1 year price target of $43.00, an upside of 7.18% from Riley Exploration Permian's current stock price of $40.12.

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.

Chord Energy (NASDAQ:CHRD) 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 Chord Energy (NASDAQ:CHRD) is: Value: B, Growth: B, Momentum: B, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: B, and AI: A.

Chord Energy (NASDAQ:CHRD) has a Due Diligence Score of 49, which is 18 points higher than the oil and gas industry average of 31.

CHRD passed 17 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Chord Energy has seen its stock return 55.84% over the past year, overperforming other oil and gas stocks by 41 percentage points.

Chord Energy has an average 1 year price target of $176.00, an upside of 32.88% from Chord Energy's current stock price of $132.45.

Chord Energy stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 11 analysts covering Chord Energy, 54.55% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 18.18% have issued a Buy, 27.27% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Ring Energy (NYSEMKT:REI) 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 Ring Energy (NYSEMKT:REI) is: Value: B, Growth: A, Momentum: C, Sentiment: B, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Ring Energy (NYSEMKT:REI) has a Due Diligence Score of 13, which is -18 points lower than the oil and gas industry average of 31. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates REI as a "A".

REI passed 4 out of 33 due diligence checks and has weak fundamentals. Ring Energy has seen its stock return 16.42% over the past year, overperforming other oil and gas stocks by 2 percentage points.

Ring Energy has an average 1 year price target of $2.00, an upside of 78.57% from Ring Energy's current stock price of $1.12.

Ring Energy stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 2 analysts covering Ring Energy, 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.

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 18.11%, which is 13 percentage points higher than the oil and gas industry average of 4.73%.

Mach Natural Resources's dividend payout ratio of 303.3% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Evolution Petroleum (NYSEMKT:EPM) has an annual dividend yield of 13.87%, which is 9 percentage points higher than the oil and gas industry average of 4.73%. 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 12.52%, which is 8 percentage points higher than the oil and gas industry average of 4.73%.

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 down -2.85% in the last day, and down -13.79% over the last week. Texas Pacific Land was the among the top losers in the oil & gas e&p industry, dropping -5.38% yesterday.

Texas Pacific Land shares are trading higher after the company reported better-than-expected Q3 financial results.

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 65.99% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the oil and gas industry by 51 percentage points.

Riley Exploration Permian (NYSEMKT:REPX) 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.

Riley Exploration Permian 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.

Riley Exploration Permian's stock has gained 57.89% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the oil and gas industry by 43 percentage points.

Chord Energy (NASDAQ:CHRD) 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.

Chord Energy 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.

Chord Energy's stock has gained 55.84% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the oil and gas industry by 41 percentage points.

57.45% 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 28.96% over the next year.

13.24% of oil and gas stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 25% of oil and gas stocks are rated B (Buy), 48.53% are rated C (Hold), 5.88% are rated D (Sell), and 7.35% are rated F (Strong Sell).