We recently compiled a list of the 13 Best Natural Gas and Oil Dividend Stocks To Buy. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Chord Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:CHRD) stands against the other natural gas and oil dividend stocks.

The United States of America is the Largest Oil Producing Country in the World. The country’s oil production has surged by almost 50% over the last decade, reaching just over 13.45 million barrels per day (bpd) in October 2024. However, despite the historically high levels of output, total US production growth has slowed in recent years, climbing only about 280,000 bpd last year. The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) has forecasted the country’s crude oil production to flatten in 2026, with operators reducing the number of active drilling rigs as crude oil prices fall, allowing natural declines in existing wells to overtake production from new wells next year. The EIA expects US crude production to reach an all-time high in 2025, averaging 13.5 million bpd, increasing slightly to 13.6 million bpd in 2026.

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The US natural gas output also stands near an all-time high as a period of strong demand and improved prices sparked a resurgence in production. The EIA expects these prices to further increase in 2025 and 2026 as demand for natural gas is projected to grow mainly due to a jump in LNG exports. The country’s natural gas sector is also set to benefit greatly from the ongoing AI boom, as several dozen new gas-fired power plants are expected to be built in the US in the next few years. According to energy data provider Enverus, a total of 80 new gas power plants could be constructed in America by 2030, adding about 46 GW of new capacity – 20% higher than the gas capacity additions in the last five years.

President Donald Trump has made repeated calls to the American oil and gas sector to increase production as he holds the fossil fuel industry as a centerpiece of his broader economic mission. However, the country’s O&G majors are reluctant as increasing output even further could create a glut and drive prices down, which they want to avoid.

Instead, producers are focused on keeping their capital spending under control and attaining higher operational efficiencies, while prioritizing returning cash to shareholders after a pricing rout in the last decade hurt profits and share prices. Several oil bigwigs have even had to resort to borrowing money to make sure they keep their shareholders happy. According to a report by Janus Henderson, companies in the energy sector distributed over $49 billion in dividends during the third quarter of 2024, up from $32.2 billion three years ago. However, maintaining such high payouts to shareholders will get even tougher for the oil majors in the future, as the EIA expects Brent crude oil prices to fall 8% to average $74 a barrel in 2025, then fall further to $66 a barrel in 2026.

The energy sector has witnessed considerable fluctuations over the last few months, rising by over 6% in November before falling almost 10% in December. The broader energy sector ended 2024 with a return of just 5.72%, significantly lagging behind gains of 25% by the wider market.

Methodology: 

To collect data for this article, we observed various companies working in the oil and gas sector and then picked out companies with the highest dividend yields as of February 6, 2025, and ranked them by their number of hedge fund investors according to the Insider Monkey database as of Q3 2024. Following are the Best Natural Gas and Oil Dividend Stocks to Buy Now.

At Insider Monkey we are obsessed with 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 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).

Chord Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:CHRD)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 50

Dividend Yield: 9.37%

Chord Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:CHRD) is a scaled unconventional US oil producer with a premier Williston Basin acreage position. The company acquires, exploits, develops, and explores crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. Chord also finalized its acquisition of Enerplus last year, significantly expanding its footprint and making it the largest producer in the Bakken, one of the largest on-shore oil fields in the United States.

A key driver of Chord Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:CHRD)’s strong operational performance has been its focus on long lateral drilling. The company has seen success with 3-mile laterals and is exploring the potential for 4-mile laterals, which is working and delivering greatly improved capital efficiency and returns. Moreover, the company has a substantial yet low decline and high oil cut production base, which is paired with a deep portfolio of highly economic, lower-risk, conservatively spaced, and oil-rich inventory.

Chord Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:CHRD) reported revenue of $1.45 billion in Q3 2024, up 29.12% YoY and beating analysts’ estimates by over $242 million, as the company’s oil volumes were toward the top end of guidance, driven by strong execution, well performance, and lower downtime. Chord has also committed to returning 75% of its free cash flow to shareholders through dividends and stock buybacks and announced a base dividend of $1.25 per share and repurchased shares worth $146 million during the third quarter of 2024.

Carillon Tower Advisers stated the following about Chord Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:CHRD) in its Q3 investment letter:

“Chord Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:CHRD) is an independent exploration and production company with operations in the Williston Basin in North Dakota, Montana, and South Dakota. The company’s shares lagged largely due to the recent pressure in the price of oil. Some recent data indicating slightly disappointing initial well productivity from a handful of recently completed wells also contributed to lackluster performance. Despite this, we remain optimistic on management’s ability to drive operational efficiencies following the recent close of Chord’s acquisition of Enerplus, by applying best practices of both independent companies in a manner that should provide upside to the previously communicated synergies. We believe the continued successful implementation of Chord’s 3-mile lateral strategy, which entails drilling both vertically and horizontally for distances longer than in 2-mile lateral wells, also could drive increased shareholder returns.”

Overall CHRD ranks 5th on our list of the best natural gas and oil dividend stocks to buy. While we acknowledge the potential for CHRD as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than CHRD but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.