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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:

Riley Exploration Permian (NYSEMKT:REPX) is the #1 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: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Riley Exploration Permian (NYSEMKT:REPX) has a Due Diligence Score of 56, which is 27 points higher than the oil and gas industry average of 29.

REPX passed 20 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Riley Exploration Permian has seen its stock lose -17.16% over the past year, underperforming other oil and gas stocks by -9 percentage points.

Riley Exploration Permian has an average 1 year price target of $36.00, an upside of 28.34% from Riley Exploration Permian's current stock price of $28.05.

Riley Exploration Permian stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 1 analyst 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.

Ring Energy (NYSEMKT:REI) is the #2 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 Ring Energy (NYSEMKT:REI) is: Value: B, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: A, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Ring Energy (NYSEMKT:REI) has a Due Diligence Score of 11, which is -18 points lower than the oil and gas industry average of 29. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates REI as a "B".

REI passed 3 out of 33 due diligence checks and has weak fundamentals. Ring Energy has seen its stock lose -15.94% over the past year, underperforming other oil and gas stocks by -7 percentage points.

Sandridge Energy (NYSE:SD) 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 Sandridge Energy (NYSE:SD) is: Value: B, Growth: D, Momentum: C, Sentiment: A, Safety: B, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Sandridge Energy (NYSE:SD) has a Due Diligence Score of 51, which is 22 points higher than the oil and gas industry average of 29.

SD passed 19 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Sandridge Energy has seen its stock return 28.76% over the past year, overperforming other oil and gas stocks by 37 percentage points.

Out of 36 oil and gas stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 oil and gas stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

Txo Partners (NYSE:TXO) has an annual dividend yield of 16.85%, which is 12 percentage points higher than the oil and gas industry average of 4.95%.

Txo Partners's dividend payout ratio of 548.8% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Mach Natural Resources (NYSE:MNR) has an annual dividend yield of 16.54%, which is 12 percentage points higher than the oil and gas industry average of 4.95%.

Mach Natural Resources's dividend payout ratio of 234% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Evolution Petroleum (NYSEMKT:EPM) has an annual dividend yield of 12.31%, which is 7 percentage points higher than the oil and gas industry average of 4.95%. 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 -4,800% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Oil and gas stocks were up 1.14% in the last day, and up 5.04% over the last week.

We couldn't find a catalyst for why oil and gas stocks are up.

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 dropped -17.16% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the oil and gas industry by -9 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 43, which is 12 points higher than the oil and gas industry average of 31. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Sm Energy Co's stock has dropped -52.88% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the oil and gas industry by -44 percentage points.

Ring Energy (NYSEMKT:REI) 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.

Ring Energy has a valuation score of 14, which is -17 points higher than the oil and gas industry average of 31. It passed 1 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates REI a Valuation Rating of "B".

Ring Energy's stock has dropped -15.94% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the oil and gas industry by -7 percentage points.

46.81% 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 14.6% over the next year.

0% of oil and gas stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 9.38% of oil and gas stocks are rated B (Buy), 64.06% are rated C (Hold), 18.75% are rated D (Sell), and 7.81% are rated F (Strong Sell).