In this article, we will take a look at the 7 Best Oil and Gas Drilling Stocks to Buy Now.
Oil prices jumped on June 10 after President Trump informed reporters that he intended to strike Iran again, following recent assaults in the Middle East. However, later in the week, prices continued to trend lower on expectations of a deal soon. The blockage of the Strait of Hormuz has cut around 20% of world petroleum shipments, resulting in an overall supply imbalance that analysts project will continue through 2026 and 2027.
Wael Sawan, CEO of Shell, believes that although oil prices may temporarily decline following the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, prices will rise over a period of five to ten years due to the continuous increase in the world’s demand for oil and gas, which will require the pursuit of more complex resources.
At the Wall Street Journal Leadership Institute CEO Summit, Sawan declared, “All the easy oil and gas has been found.” As such, oil corporations will be forced to look into reserves that are currently unprofitable to explore and develop. In that regard, prices will have to go up to make it profitable to tap into the resources that the economy will require in the future.
With that backdrop, let’s explore our selection of the 7 best oil and gas drilling stocks to buy now.
Our Methodology
We used screeners to identify the best oil and gas drilling stocks and narrowed our final selection to companies favored by hedge funds. For that, we relied on Insider Monkey’s hedge fund database, which tracks over 1,000 hedge funds as of Q1 2026. Our final list is ranked in ascending order based on the number of hedge funds holding bullish positions in each stock.
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. Insider Monkey’s quarterly newsletter strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 599.2% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 372 percentage points (see more details here).
7. Nabors Industries Ltd. (NYSE:NBR)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 28
Nabors Industries Ltd. (NYSE:NBR) ranks among the best oil and gas drilling stocks to buy now. On May 7, Barclays analyst Eddie Kim raised Nabors Industries Ltd. (NYSE:NBR) to Equal Weight from Underweight, with a price objective of $99, up from $65. The firm increased its ratings and price objectives for the energy services market, stating that the sector is in its best position in 20 years.
Moreover, in late April, RBC Capital analyst Keith Mackey had also boosted his price objective for Nabors Industries Ltd. (NYSE:NBR) to $120 from $91 and maintained a Sector Perform rating on the shares after Nabors’ Q1 results. The company reported revenue of $784 million and an earnings per share loss of $1.54, exceeding analyst projections of a $2.44 loss by approximately 37%.
The company’s Q1 results showed strong EBITDA production in the midst of Middle East disruption, along with improved free cash flow outcomes, with the outlook for the rest of the year having gradually improved.
Nabors Industries Ltd. (NYSE:NBR) is a provider of offshore platform rigs. It also offers performance tools, directional drilling services, tubular running services, and technology for both its own rig fleet and those managed by third parties.
6. Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 30
Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) ranks among the best oil and gas drilling stocks to buy now. On June 4, Goldman Sachs analyst Ati Modak upgraded Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP)’s price objective to $41 from $35 and maintained a Neutral rating on the shares as part of a broader analysis on energy stocks.
The firm claims that gradual improvements in oilfield operations, such as rigs returning to operations in the Middle East and corresponding price action in oilfield service equities, have offered new opportunities to the market.
Meanwhile, on May 18, Piper Sandler analyst Derek Podhaizer boosted the firm’s price target for Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) from $41 to $43, with an Overweight rating on the company’s stock. Reflecting on the Q1 earnings season, the firm observed that the Energy Security topic dominated management communication, with the term appearing 30 times throughout the seven Diversifieds.
According to Piper Sandler, the group’s setup continues to be favorable as cyclical convergence advances, and US Land, International, and Offshore are all heading in the right direction.
Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) provides drilling solutions and technologies for oil and gas exploration and production companies.
While we acknowledge the potential of HP to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than HP and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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