In this article, we will discuss 13 Best Crude Oil Stocks to Buy According to Analysts. 

When it comes to crude oil stocks, billionaires and hedge fund managers aren’t chasing hype; they’re chasing cash flow, scarcity, and pricing power. In a market often dominated by fast-moving narratives around artificial intelligence and high-growth technology, oil remains one of the few sectors where investors can still buy companies backed by hard assets, real earnings, and immediate shareholder returns. For the smart money, that combination is difficult to ignore.

Unlike many speculative themes, oil does not need a distant breakthrough to justify investment. It already powers transportation, manufacturing, aviation, and large parts of the global economy. More importantly for investors, many leading producers generate billions in free cash flow, which can be returned through dividends and aggressive share buybacks. That helps explain why Warren Buffett has built major exposure to Occidental Petroleum while also maintaining stakes in Chevron. These are not speculative bets—they are investments in durable businesses producing real profits today.

Another powerful theme attracting hedge funds is underinvestment. Years of ESG pressure and cautious capital spending have limited new supply growth, even as global demand has remained resilient. Investors in the mold of David Tepper and Paul Tudor Jones often focus on exactly these kinds of supply-demand imbalances, where constrained production can translate into stronger commodity prices and expanding margins.

Oil also carries macro appeal. During periods of inflation, war, or geopolitical uncertainty, crude prices can rise sharply, making energy stocks a natural hedge when broader portfolios come under pressure.

The bottom line? Oil stocks may lack the glamour of emerging tech, but they offer something many fashionable sectors cannot: tangible assets, disciplined capital returns, and direct leverage to one of the world’s most essential commodities. For hedge funds seeking value with upside, that remains a compelling formula.

With this context in mind, here is a list of 13 best crude oil stocks to buy according to analysts.

Our Methodology

We used screeners to identify the largest crude oil stocks and limited our final selection to companies that have recently reported noteworthy developments likely to impact investor sentiment. These stocks are also popular among analysts and elite hedge funds.

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 498.7% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 303 percentage points (see more details here).

13 Best Crude Oil Stocks to Buy According to Analysts

13. W&T Offshore, Inc. (NYSE:WTI)

On April 17, William Blair initiated coverage of W&T Offshore, Inc. (NYSE:WTI) with an Outperform rating, highlighting a business model that differentiates the company from many traditional offshore producers. The firm noted that W&T “takes virtually no operational risk” by emphasizing production uplift from existing projects and ramping output from acquired fields rather than pursuing expensive, high-risk offshore exploration drilling. That strategy can be especially attractive in volatile commodity environments because it allows the company to focus capital on known assets with established infrastructure, often generating faster payback periods and more predictable returns.

William Blair also said W&T continues to identify accretive acquisitions that add meaningful reserves with limited capital requirements, helping maximize production while preserving balance sheet flexibility. The firm projects 40% fair-value upside in the shares and suggested the stock could trade as high as $5 per share, implying approximately 74% upside from current levels.

Earlier, on March 16, pre-earnings options activity in W&T Offshore, Inc. (NYSE:WTI) was described as normal, though calls outpaced puts by a 6-to-1 margin. Implied volatility suggested the market was anticipating a move of roughly 11.9%, or 38 cents, following results. While options activity can be speculative, a call-heavy setup often signals growing bullish interest and expectations for positive operational or financial developments.

W&T Offshore, Inc. (NYSE:WTI), founded in 1983 and headquartered in Houston, Texas, is an independent oil and natural gas producer focused primarily on the Gulf of Mexico. The company acquires, develops, and optimizes offshore oil and gas properties, selling crude oil, natural gas liquids, and natural gas into U.S. energy markets.

12. Delek US Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:DK)

On April 13, Citi analyst Vikram Bagri raised the firm’s price target on Delek US Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:DK) to $44 from $33 and kept a Neutral rating on the shares, reflecting improving sentiment around refining fundamentals and company-specific execution. Just days earlier, on April 10, Goldman Sachs upgraded Delek US to Buy from Neutral with a $55 price target after assuming coverage. Goldman cited the company’s cost-reduction initiatives, small refinery exemptions, stronger marketing and wholesale execution, and growing logistics earnings as drivers of higher future free cash flow.

Those catalysts are important because Delek US Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:DK) has historically traded at a discount to larger peers, meaning successful execution could create meaningful upside through both earnings growth and multiple expansion. The market often rewards refiners that improve operational efficiency while diversifying into fee-based logistics cash flow, and Delek appears to be making progress on both fronts.

Delek US Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:DK), founded in 2001 and headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee, is a diversified downstream energy company focused on petroleum refining, logistics, and asphalt. Its refineries in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, and other strategic regions produce gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and related products serving domestic demand centers. Through logistics assets and pipelines, the company also captures midstream value beyond refining margins alone.