Sectors & IndustriesEnergy

Best Energy Stocks to Buy Now (2026)

Top energy stocks in 2026 ranked by overall Due Diligence Score. See the best energy stocks to buy now, according to analyst forecasts for the energy sector.

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 energy stocks to buy right now are:

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) is the #1 top energy stock out of 223 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 Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) is: Value: B, Growth: A, Momentum: A, Sentiment: B, Safety: C, Financials: B, and AI: A.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) has a Due Diligence Score of 50, which is 17 points higher than the energy sector average of 33. It passed 18 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Marathon Petroleum has seen its stock return 110.55% over the past year, overperforming other energy stocks by 118 percentage points.

Marathon Petroleum has an average 1 year price target of $311.15, a downside of -14.17% from Marathon Petroleum's current stock price of $362.52.

Marathon Petroleum stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 13 analysts covering Marathon Petroleum, 53.85% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 15.38% have issued a Buy, 30.77% have issued a Hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Par Pacific Holdings (NYSE:PARR) is the #2 top energy stock out of 223 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 Par Pacific Holdings (NYSE:PARR) is: Value: A, Growth: B, Momentum: B, Sentiment: B, Safety: C, Financials: A, and AI: B.

Par Pacific Holdings (NYSE:PARR) has a Due Diligence Score of 53, which is 20 points higher than the energy sector average of 33. It passed 17 out of 33 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Par Pacific Holdings has seen its stock return 128.71% over the past year, overperforming other energy stocks by 137 percentage points.

Par Pacific Holdings has an average 1 year price target of $81.57, an upside of 9.74% from Par Pacific Holdings's current stock price of $74.33.

Par Pacific Holdings stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 7 analysts covering Par Pacific Holdings, 57.14% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 28.57% have issued a Buy, 14.29% have issued a Hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) is the #3 top energy stock out of 223 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 Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) is: Value: B, Growth: A, Momentum: A, Sentiment: B, Safety: C, Financials: A, and AI: A.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) has a Due Diligence Score of 50, which is 17 points higher than the energy sector average of 33. It passed 18 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Valero Energy has seen its stock return 135.2% over the past year, overperforming other energy stocks by 143 percentage points.

Valero Energy has an average 1 year price target of $301.93, a downside of -12.74% from Valero Energy's current stock price of $346.00.

Valero Energy stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 15 analysts covering Valero Energy, 46.67% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 13.33% have issued a Buy, 33.33% have issued a Hold, while 6.67% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Out of 138 energy stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 energy stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

Atlas Energy Solutions (NYSE:AESI) has an annual dividend yield of N/A, which is N/A percentage points lower than the energy sector average of 3.84%.

Atlas Energy Solutions's dividend payout ratio of -26.3% indicates that its dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Icahn Enterprises (NASDAQ:IEP) has an annual dividend yield of 29.67%, which is 26 percentage points higher than the energy sector average of 3.84%. Icahn Enterprises's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% two times in the last 10 years. Icahn Enterprises's dividend has not shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Icahn Enterprises's dividend payout ratio of -277.8% 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 14.24%, which is 10 percentage points higher than the energy sector average of 3.84%.

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

Energy stocks were down -1.15% in the last day, and down -0.08% over the last week.

We couldn't find a catalyst for why energy stocks are down.

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 energy stocks right now are:

Pbf Energy (NYSE:PBF) is the most undervalued energy stock based on its Valuation Rating of A. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Pbf Energy has a valuation score of 43, which is 15 points higher than the energy sector average of 28. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Pbf Energy's stock has gained 169.84% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the energy sector by 178 percentage points.

Imperial Petroleum /Marshall Islands (NASDAQ:IMPP) is the second most undervalued energy stock based on its Valuation Rating of A. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Imperial Petroleum /Marshall Islands has a valuation score of 71, which is 43 points higher than the energy sector average of 28. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Imperial Petroleum /Marshall Islands's stock has gained 65.31% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the energy sector by 73 percentage points.

Sm Energy Co (NYSE:SM) is the third most undervalued energy 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 43 points higher than the energy sector average of 28. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Sm Energy Co's stock has gained 28.52% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the energy sector by 36 percentage points.

44.17% of energy stocks rated by analysts are a strong buy right now. On average, analysts expect energy stocks to rise by 9.66% over the next year.

13.3% of energy stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 22.66% of energy stocks are rated B (Buy), 50.74% are rated C (Hold), 7.88% are rated D (Sell), and 5.42% are rated F (Strong Sell).