We recently published a list of the Top 15 Energy Companies with the Highest Upside Potential. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Coterra Energy Inc. (NYSE:CTRA) stands against other top energy companies.
After posting notable gains in the first three months of 2025, the energy sector witnessed significant declines in April, primarily due to the ongoing global trade war sparked by President Trump’s tariffs and the prospects of an economic slowdown. The overall energy sector has now slid by around 3.8% since the beginning of the year, against a decline of about 5.8% by the wider market. Unsurprisingly, the downturn is led by the oil and gas sector, which has fallen by over 15% YTD.
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The primary reason behind this fall is the declining global price of crude oil, caused by the continued uncertainty surrounding global trade, demand fears, and the recent decision by OPEC+ to increase supply. The West Texas Intermediate crude price is currently hovering at a multi-year low level of just under $62, down by over 25% YoY. To make matters worse, the International Energy Agency recently cut its 2025 oil demand growth forecast by 300,000 barrels per day compared to last month, warning the world to ‘buckle up’ amid the escalating trade tensions.
That said, there are sectors in the energy industry that are still significantly bullish, with liquified natural gas being a prime example. The United States of America is already the largest LNG exporter in the world, with exports growing consistently over the last decade. Still, the industry continues to boom after it received significant support from the Trump administration, which has made boosting America’s fossil fuel sector its primary agenda. According to Wood Mackenzie, 15.5 million tons per annum (MTPA) of long-term LNG offtake contracts were signed in the first quarter of 2025, following a record 81 MTPA last year. These numbers are expected to spike in the coming months after more and more countries are looking to export American LNG to narrow their trade gap with the US, following a tariff threat by the White House.
Another important growth driver for the energy sector is the ongoing AI boom and its accompanying power-hungry data centers. According to a study by the American Clean Power Association, electricity demand in the US is expected to surge by 35-50% by 2040, driven by domestic manufacturing growth, data centers, and mass electrification. A primary candidate to satisfy this huge demand is natural gas, which is clean, reliable, and abundant. According to energy data provider Enverus, a total of 80 new gas power plants could be constructed in America by the end of the decade. That said, natural gas is not as cheap as it was a year ago, as prices have surged by around 36.6% over the last 52 weeks.
Another important candidate is nuclear energy, which has emerged as a hot topic these days, especially after several tech giants met on the sidelines of the CERAWeek conference in Houston and signed a pledge to support the goal of at least tripling the world’s nuclear energy capacity by 2050. A number of these companies have already signed contracts with nuclear energy providers to power their data centers, with Jeff Bezos’ online retail giant being a primary example.
An oil rig pumping under the open sky of the Permian Basin.
Methodology
To collect data for this article, we examined companies operating in the energy sector and then compiled a list of the stocks with the highest upside potential according to Wall Street analysts, as of April 28, 2025. To keep our list relevant, we have only included companies with a market cap of $10 billion and above. The following are the Energy Companies with the Highest Upside Potential.
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).
Coterra Energy Inc. (NYSE:CTRA)
Upside Potential as of April 28: 34.61%
Coterra Energy Inc. (NYSE:CTRA) is a premier, diversified energy company that engages in the exploration, development, and production of oil, natural gas, and NGLs in the United States.
Coterra Energy Inc. (NYSE:CTRA) reported an adjusted EPS of $0.49 in Q4 2024, beating estimates by $0.06. The company’s revenue of $1.4 billion, though down 12.6%, was also in line with expectations. Coterra’s total equivalent production for FY 2024 beat the high end of its guidance range, coming in at 677 million boe/d, driven by improved cycle times and strong well performance. Oil production also increased organically by 13% YoY. CTRA remains committed to its shareholders and returned $1.086 billion in 2024, composed of $635 million of dividends and $451 million of share repurchases, representing 89% of its free cash flow for the year. The company also recently increased its dividend by 4.8% to $0.22 per share.
Coterra Energy Inc. (NYSE:CTRA) recently expanded its footprint in the prolific Permian basin with the acquisition of certain assets of Avant Natural Resources and Franklin Mountain Energy for a combined $3.95 billion. Coterra expects the new assets to contribute 40,000–50,000 bpd and 60,000–70,000 boe/d to its production in 2025. However, not everyone is bullish about the strategic move.
ClearBridge Investments stated the following regarding Coterra Energy Inc. (NYSE:CTRA) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:
“We exited our position in Coterra Energy Inc. (NYSE:CTRA), an independent oil and gas exploration and production company, following the company’s decision to acquire oil and gas assets in the Permian Basin in two transactions that we believe prioritize company size over operational efficiency.”
Overall, CTRA ranks 12th on our list of the top energy companies with the highest upside potential. While we acknowledge the potential of CTRA as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than CTRA but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
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