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:

Ypf Sociedad Anonima (NYSE:YPF) is the #1 top energy stock out of 237 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 Ypf Sociedad Anonima (NYSE:YPF) is: Value: A, Growth: A, Momentum: B, Sentiment: B, Safety: C, Financials: B, and AI: A.

Ypf Sociedad Anonima (NYSE:YPF) has a Due Diligence Score of 13, which is -20 points lower than the energy sector average of 33. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates YPF as a "A".It passed 5 out of 38 due diligence checks and has weak fundamentals. Ypf Sociedad Anonima has seen its stock lose -0.43% over the past year, overperforming other energy stocks by 47 percentage points.

Ypf Sociedad Anonima has an average 1 year price target of $57.75, an upside of 54.58% from Ypf Sociedad Anonima's current stock price of $37.36.

Ypf Sociedad Anonima stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 2 analysts covering Ypf Sociedad Anonima, 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.

Hf Sinclair (NYSE:DINO) is the #2 top energy stock out of 237 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 Hf Sinclair (NYSE:DINO) is: Value: B, Growth: B, Momentum: B, Sentiment: A, Safety: C, Financials: A, and AI: B.

Hf Sinclair (NYSE:DINO) has a Due Diligence Score of 60, which is 27 points higher than the energy sector average of 33. It passed 22 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Hf Sinclair has seen its stock return 84.9% over the past year, overperforming other energy stocks by 132 percentage points.

Hf Sinclair has an average 1 year price target of $123.18, an upside of 21.09% from Hf Sinclair's current stock price of $101.73.

Hf Sinclair stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 11 analysts covering Hf Sinclair, 45.45% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 54.55% 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 237 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: C, Safety: C, Financials: A, and AI: A.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) has a Due Diligence Score of 55, which is 22 points higher than the energy sector average of 33. It passed 20 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Valero Energy has seen its stock return 101.1% over the past year, overperforming other energy stocks by 148 percentage points.

Valero Energy has an average 1 year price target of $424.07, an upside of 16.6% from Valero Energy's current stock price of $363.71.

Valero Energy stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 14 analysts covering Valero Energy, 42.86% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 50% have issued a Hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 7.14% have issued a Strong Sell.

Out of 141 energy stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 energy stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

Icahn Enterprises (NASDAQ:IEP) has an annual dividend yield of 39.96%, which is 36 percentage points higher than the energy sector average of 4.44%. 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 -131.6% 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 19.78%, which is 15 percentage points higher than the energy sector average of 4.44%.

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

Torm (NASDAQ:TRMD) has an annual dividend yield of 15.69%, which is 11 percentage points higher than the energy sector average of 4.44%. Torm's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% six times in the last 10 years. Torm's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Torm's dividend payout ratio of 40.9% indicates that its high dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Energy stocks were up 2.37% in the last day, and up 0.85% over the last week. Smart Sand was the among the top gainers in the energy sector, gaining 10.32% yesterday.

Smart Sand shares are trading higher after the company reported a year-over-year increase in its 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 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 14 points higher than the energy sector average of 29. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Pbf Energy's stock has gained 73.29% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the energy sector by 121 percentage points.

Ultrapar Holdings (NYSE:UGP) 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.

Ultrapar Holdings has a valuation score of 29, which is 0 points higher than the energy sector average of 29. It passed 2 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Ultrapar Holdings's stock has gained 24.54% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the energy sector by 72 percentage points.

Teekay Tankers (NYSE:TNK) 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.

Teekay Tankers has a valuation score of 43, which is 14 points higher than the energy sector average of 29. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Teekay Tankers's stock has gained 46.29% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the energy sector by 94 percentage points.

47.17% of energy stocks rated by analysts are a strong buy right now. On average, analysts expect energy stocks to rise by 24.87% over the next year.

14.42% of energy stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 19.07% of energy stocks are rated B (Buy), 49.3% are rated C (Hold), 12.09% are rated D (Sell), and 5.12% are rated F (Strong Sell).