On Monday, August 4, both the Brent crude futures and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell more than 1% to reach their lowest levels in a week.
Previously, on Sunday, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, together known as OPEC+, decided to increase oil production by 547,000 barrels per day in September. At the same time, concerns about weaker demand are growing.
The news about rising supply and signs about weaker global demand pushed oil prices lower despite earlier concerns about US President Donald Trump’s threats to India.
On Tuesday, August 5, Trump again threatened to raise tariffs sharply on Indian goods because India continues to purchase oil from Russia. Trump also pointed out that lower energy prices could pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop the war in Ukraine.
India called Trump’s actions “unjustified” and said it would protect its economic interests, which worsened the trade tension between the two countries.
Despite these threats by Trump, oil prices fell. John Evans, an analyst at oil broker PVM, questioned whether Trump would risk increasing oil prices.
Giovanni Staunovo, analyst at UBS, said the market feels stable. According to the analyst, the market might stay steady until Trump releases more announcements about Russia later this week and how buyers respond to any such announcements.
With this background in mind, let’s take a look at the 12 best American energy stocks to buy right now.
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Our Methodology
To compile our list of the 12 best American energy stocks to buy right now, we used stock screeners from Finviz and Yahoo Finance to find the largest American energy companies. We sorted our results based on market capitalization and picked the top 50 American stocks. Next, we focused on the 12 American stocks most favored by institutional investors. Data for the hedge fund sentiment surrounding each stock was taken from Insider Monkey’s Q1 2025 database of 1,000 elite hedge funds. Finally, the 12 best American energy stocks to buy right now were ranked in ascending order based on the number of hedge funds holding stakes in them as of Q1 2025.
Why do we care about what hedge funds do? 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 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
12 Best American Energy Stocks to Buy Right Now
12. Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 59
Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) is one of the best American energy stocks to buy right now. On July 14, Mizuho increased its price target for Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) from $58 to $65 and kept a Neutral rating on the stock.
Mizuho expects the company to miss the consensus EBITDA estimates by about 8% in Q2 2025. This miss is attributed to the front-weighted capital spending, which significantly impacted free cash flow. Mizuho projects the free cash flow to be about 53% below street expectations.
According to Mizuho’s review of Occidental Petroleum Corporation’s (NYSE:OXY) recent 8-K filing, the company is seeing a slight impact on oil volumes in the Gulf of America, some strength in oil and liquids pricing, and weakness in US natural gas realizations.
The firm attributed the expected miss in free cash flow primarily to heavy spending during the quarter, with about 55% of the 2025 budget allocated to the first half of the year. Based on the previous commentary by the company’s management, Mizuho believes these headwinds are not expected to continue into the second half of 2025.
Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) is an American multinational energy company with assets primarily in the United States, the Middle East, and North Africa. The company is one of the largest oil and gas producers in the US.
11. EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 64
EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG) is one of the best American energy stocks to buy right now. On July 1, UBS reiterated its Buy rating on EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG) with a price target of $140 ahead of the company’s Q2 2025 financial update scheduled for August 8.
UBS analyst Josh Silverstein expects EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG) to report Q2 total production at the high end of its guidance. He also expects the company will maintain its full-year 2025 outlook.
The firm is looking forward to hearing about EOG Resources, Inc.’s (NYSE:EOG) plans for returning capital to shareholders. UBS noted that some of the company’s cash balance will be used to pay for the previously announced acquisition of Encino.
The analyst also expects the company to share more details about its Utica operations in the coming quarters, noting that this play is “clearly shifting from emerging to core.”
EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG) is one of the largest American crude oil and natural gas exploration and production companies with proven reserves in the United States and Trinidad.
10. Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 65
Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) is one of the best American energy stocks to buy right now. On July 22, UBS reiterated a Buy rating for Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) with a price target of $38, highlighting growth opportunities driven by rising power demand.
UBS noted that Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) placed $750 million worth of projects into service during the second quarter of 2025. Despite this, the company’s project backlog still increased by $500 million to $9.3 billion by the end of the quarter.
The firm pointed out that about 50% of these projects in the backlog are related to serving power demand.
Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) is one of the largest energy infrastructure companies in North America. It owns and operates pipelines and terminals that transport natural gas, gasoline, and crude oil.
9. Antero Resources Corporation (NYSE:AR)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 67
Antero Resources Corporation (NYSE:AR) is one of the best American energy stocks to buy right now. On July 30, Antero Resources Corporation (NYSE:AR) reported its Q2 2025 financial and operating results, highlighting strong cash flow and debt reduction.
The company continues to generate substantial free cash flow in 2025 thanks to its low maintenance capital requirements.
In the second quarter alone, Antero Resources Corporation (NYSE:AR) used its free cash flow to pay down nearly $200 million in debt and buy back $85 million worth of stock. Year-to-date as of July 30th, the company had repurchased 4.4 million shares for $152 million. The company still has about $900 million remaining on its current share buyback program.
Looking ahead, Antero Resources Corporation (NYSE:AR) plans to actively manage its return of capital carefully with a focus on further debt reduction and share buybacks.
Antero Resources Corporation (NYSE:AR) is an independent natural gas and liquids company operating in the Appalachian Basin in West Virginia and Ohio. It is a major supplier of natural gas and LPG to the global export market.
8. Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 68
Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) is one of the best American energy stocks to buy right now. On July 21, UBS reiterated its Buy rating for Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) with a price target of $45 after the company released its financial results for the second quarter of 2025.
UBS highlighted that starting from the third quarter of 2025, Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) plans to report its Digital division as a separate segment.
The firm sees this as a positive development that could be a potential catalyst for Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB). UBS pointed out that New Tech Digital could account for about 2-3% of the company’s estimated 2026 revenue.
UBS analysts believe that the Digital division may possibly be worth between 10-25% of Schlumberger Limited’s (NYSE:SLB) total enterprise value. This indicates that the Digital division may be undervalued within the company’s current market capitalization.
Headquartered in Houston, Texas, United States, Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) is a global oilfield services company. With a presence in over 100 countries, the company offers technology, information solutions, and integrated project management services that optimize reservoir performance.
7. ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 70
ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) is one of the best American energy stocks to buy right now. On July 11, UBS increased its price target for ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) from $111 to $115 while keeping a Buy rating.
UBS noted that even though ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) delivered a positive operational update with its Q1 2025 results, the stock performance was hindered because of concerns about the company’s capital return program.
The firm believes that if ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) has another strong quarter, it could improve investor confidence. UBS pointed out that “this bandaid now ripped off” regarding capital return concerns.
UBS also expects ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) to see an improvement in free cash flow as long-cycle spending starts to decrease in the second half of 2025.
ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) is an American energy company that ranks among the world’s largest independent oil and gas exploration and production companies based on production and proved reserves.
6. The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 72
The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) is one of the best American energy stocks to buy right now. On July 29, The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) reported that its board of directors has authorized a regular dividend of $0.50 per share.
This translates to a dividend of $2.00 on the company’s common stock on an annualized basis. The dividend is scheduled to be paid on September 29 to shareholders of record as of September 12.
The regular dividend of $0.50 per share represents an increase of 5.3% compared to The Williams Companies, Inc.’s (NYSE:WMB) 2024 quarterly dividend of $0.475 per share.
The company has been paying a dividend on its common stock every quarter since 1974.
The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) is an American energy company focused on natural gas processing, transportation, and related services. The company moves about one-third of the natural gas in the US with its 33,000-mile pipeline infrastructure.
5. Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 75
Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) is one of the best American energy stocks to buy right now. On July 15, Scotiabank increased its price target for Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) from $250 to $261 while keeping a Sector Outperform rating.
This decision came after the company updated its medium-term outlook in June. The update outlined a plan for Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) to reach nameplate production capacity of 100 million tonnes per annum (Mmtpa). It also highlighted prospects for strong cash flow generation.
Additionally, Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) announced the final investment decision for its Midscale trains 8 and 9. The company also announced two new brownfield expansions, the SPL Stage V and CCL Stage IV. These expansions will help increase the company’s capacity to around 73 Mmtpa.
Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) is an American energy company that is engaged in liquefied natural gas (LNG)-related businesses. The company is the leading producer and exporter of LNG in the United States.
4. Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 80
Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE) is one of the best American energy stocks to buy right now. On July 30, Mizuho increased its price target for Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE) from $142 to $154 and kept an Outperform rating on the stock.
This decision came after the company reported Q2 2025 results, which Mizuho sees as “solid” both financially and operationally.
Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE) reported volumes at the high end of its guidance. The company also reduced its capital guidance for fiscal 2025 capital guidance by about $100 million and kept its volume guidance unchanged.
The company also raised its forecast for free cash flow guidance in 2025 and 2026 by about $425 million and $500 million, respectively. This improved performance is expected thanks to savings in operating costs, synergies from the Southwestern Energy acquisition, and improved capital efficiencies. Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE) also increased its expectation for annual cost synergies to $600 million by the end of 2026.
Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE) is America’s largest natural gas producing company.
3. Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 81
Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) is one of the best American energy stocks to buy right now. On August 4, Morgan Stanley analyst Devin McDermott resumed coverage of Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX), giving an Overweight rating and setting the price target at $174.
Morgan Stanley believes that the recent closing of the acquisition of Hess Corporation removes a key overhang for Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX). This deal has also strengthened the company’s business model.
The analyst pointed out that although Chevron Corporation’s (NYSE:CVX) long-term outlook is still “less clear than peers,” this uncertainty is balanced by the company’s “leading FCF rate of change into 2026.”
Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) is a major American energy company that produces crude oil and natural gas. It also manufactures transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals, and additives.
2. EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 91
EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT) is one of the best American energy stocks to buy right now. On July 8, Jefferies increased its price target for EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT) from $60 to $70 while keeping a Buy rating on the stock.
This decision reflects the positive impact of the acquisition of Olympus Energy’s upstream and midstream assets on EQT Corporation’s (NYSE:EQT) business outlook. The firm updates its estimates for the company to include the acquisition.
EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT) also updated its 2025 guidance to reflect the acquisition, increasing the annual production guidance by 100 billion cubic feet equivalent (Bcfe).
EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT) is an American vertically integrated natural gas company with production and midstream operations focused in the Appalachian Basin.
1. Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 94
Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) is one of the best American energy stocks to buy right now. On August 4, Morgan Stanley increased its price target for Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) from $134 to $135 while keeping an Overweight rating on the stock.
This decision came after the company reported its Q2 earnings per share results, which surpassed consensus estimates.
Morgan Stanley pointed out that Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) has 10 major capital projects planned for 2025. These projects are on schedule and within the company’s budget. Six of these projects are already up and running.
According to Morgan Stanley analysts, these capital projects are expected to help Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) grow its earnings by over $3 billion into next year.
Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) is an American energy and petrochemical company that manages an industry-leading portfolio of resources.
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