In this article, we will look at the 11 Oil Stocks with Highest Upside Potential.
On March 3, Tom Lee, Fundstrat, appeared on CNBC’s ‘Closing Bell’ to talk about the issues investors need to keep their eyes on and factors that may point to an equity bottom. He was of the view that while the headlines have been scary and no one wishes to see the United States in a conflict, the markets have been taking it much better than expected. He does not think we can say that we are bottomed yet, but this looks like the making of a bottom; we get bad news, and the markets are taking it in stride. More importantly, he thinks that we have had a position reset, and so on the other side of this, there is going to be a lot of opportunity.
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Talking about signs of a bottom, Lee stated that if we go back to April, the VIX making a spike to over 40 would be a sign. Last year was 80, but we won’t get to it this time. Retracing would also be a clear sign, as that is so much derisking. Another sign would be us getting a scary headline and gold continuing to sell off, and then stocks actually turn green on the day, because that means we have washed things out. He believes we are pretty close.
With these trends in view, let’s look at the best oil stocks with the highest upside potential.
Our Methodology
For this list, we reached a consensus to compile a list of the best stocks operating in the oil industry that analysts are bullish on and selected the top 11 most popular among elite hedge funds as of Q3 2025. We limited our final selection to companies that have recently reported noteworthy developments likely to impact investor sentiment
Note: All data was recorded on March 5.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 427.7% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 264 percentage points (see more details here).
11 Oil Stocks with Highest Upside Potential
11. Riley Exploration Permian, Inc. (NYSE:REPX)
Riley Exploration Permian, Inc. (NYSE:REPX) is one of the best oil stocks with highest upside potential. Riley Exploration Permian, Inc. (NYSE:REPX) reported financial and operating results for fiscal Q4 and full year 2025 on March 4, reporting that it averaged 35.5 MBoe/d of total equivalent production (oil production of 20.1 MBbls/d) in the quarter. The company also generated $65 million of operating cash flow, $85 million of net income, $66 million of Adjusted EBITDAX, $1 million of Total Free Cash Flow, and $17 million of Upstream Free Cash Flow in the quarter.
Results for the full year 2025 showed that Riley Exploration Permian, Inc. (NYSE:REPX) averaged 29.2 MBoe/d of total equivalent production (oil production of 17.3 MBbls/d), and generated $213 million of operating cash flow and $161 million of net income. The company also delivered full-year 2026 guidance for total production of 35.0 – 37.0 MBoe/d (oil production of 21.0 – 22.0 MBbls/d), along with full-year 2026 guidance for activity-based capital expenditures before acquisitions of $190 – 210 million.
Riley Exploration Permian, Inc. (NYSE:REPX) is an independent oil and natural gas company that focuses on the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in Texas and New Mexico.
10. Vista Energy, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:VIST)
Vista Energy, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:VIST) is one of the best oil stocks with highest upside potential. Goldman Sachs lifted the price target on Vista Energy, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:VIST) to $66.90 from $53.20 on March 4, reiterating a Buy rating on the shares. The company announced financial results for fiscal Q4 and the full year 2025 on February 26, reporting that it continued to deliver robust production growth in the quarter, primarily on the back of new well tie-ins and strong productivity in Bajada del Palo Este, Aguada Federal, and La Amarga Chica.
Total production reached 135,000 BOEs per day, reflecting a growth of 59% year-over-year and 7% quarter-over-quarter. Oil production was 118,000 barrels per day, an interannual growth of 61% and 8% sequentially. Management further reported that total revenues during the quarter reached $689 million, 46% above the same quarter of the last year and 2% below the previous quarter. This was primarily driven by lower oil prices. Vista Energy, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:VIST) also reported that the lifting cost was $4.1 per BOE, 20% below year-over-year and 8% below vis-à-vis Q3.
Vista Energy, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:VIST) is an oil and gas company that explores and produces oil and gas. The company’s operations are divided into the Argentina and Mexico geographical segments, and its assets include Vaca Muerta, the largest shale oil and gas play under development outside North America.
