Like the broader market, energy stocks have been pummeled in recent weeks. Investors reasonably fear that tariffs and an escalating tit-for-tat trade war will slow the global economy and thus reduce oil demand. Crude oil prices have been down 8.8% over the past month, and the Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE), the largest energy sector ETF, has been down 12.4%.
But there are attractive opportunities in the oil patch amidst the selloff. While oil demand may decline in the short term if there is a global slowdown, tariff uncertainty should clear at some point, and fears about declining demand will recede.
In the meantime, oil stocks are well-known for their inexpensive valuations and attractive dividend yields. Here are three top U.S. oil stocks for investors to consider: Exxon Mobil (XOM), Chevron (CVX), and ConocoPhillips (COP).
ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM)
With a massive market cap of nearly $470 billion, ExxonMobil is the largest U.S. oil stock, making it a good one to start with. ExxonMobil is an integrated oil and gas company operating across exploration, production, refining, chemicals, transportation, and marketing. It has also ventured into renewable energy with forays into carbon capture and storage, hydrogen, lithium, and more, making this a well-rounded energy company for today and tomorrow.
Some of ExxonMobil’s most notable assets include over 1.4 million acres in Texas’ Permian Basin with an estimated 16 billion BOE (barrels of oil equivalent), and its significant offshore assets off the coast of Guyana.
Last year, ExxonMobil became even more prominent when it completed the nearly $60 billion acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources in an all-stock deal that doubled its footprint in the Permian Basin.
In addition to its massive size and scale, ExxonMobil is widely recognized as a top dividend stock. The company has grown its dividend per share for an impressive 42 years in a row. Additionally, shares yield an attractive 3.6%, well above the broader market and a touch above the sector average, as the S&P 500 currently yields 1.5%. ExxonMobil returned a massive $36 billion to shareholders in 2024, through a combination of dividends and share repurchases.
Shares of the world’s largest energy company are relatively cheap, trading at 15.8x 2025 earnings estimates (for comparison, the S&P 500 currently trades for just under 20x 2025 earnings).
Is ExxonMobil a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Turning to Wall Street, XOM earns a Moderate Buy consensus rating based on 11 Buys, five Holds, and zero Sell ratings assigned in the past three months. The average analyst XOM stock price target of $128.79 implies ~19% upside potential from current levels.
With a market cap of $241.3 billion, Chevron isn’t as big as ExxonMobil but is still the second-largest U.S. oil company. Like its larger peer, it is a vertically integrated oil company operating in all facets of the oil business. Like ExxonMobil, Chevron is a major player in the Permian Basin, where it now produces one million barrels of oil per day. It also has substantial assets in the Gulf of Mexico, Kazakhstan, and beyond.
Chevron has a strong balance sheet and is an outstanding dividend stock with an attractive 4.8% dividend yield, significantly higher than that of the broader market and both of its peers in this comparison. Chevron also has a strong history of dividend growth, having grown its dividend for the past 37 years and counting. Chevron also returns capital to shareholders via a massive $75 billion share repurchase program initiated in 2023.
In 2024, the Houston-based company returned $27 billion to shareholders through a combination of dividends and share repurchases and bought back 5% of its outstanding shares. Chevron’s valuation is on par with that of ExxonMobil, trading at 15.8x 2025 earnings estimates, so it is also several turns cheaper than the S&P 500.
Is Chevron a Buy or Sell?
On Wall Street, CVX earns a Moderate Buy consensus rating based on nine Buys, six Holds, and one Sell ratings assigned in the past three months. The average analyst CVX stock price target of $163.86 implies 18% upside potential from current levels.
Last but not least, with a market cap of $116.1 billion, ConocoPhillips is smaller than ExxonMobil and Chevron, but it is still a major player among U.S. oil stocks. In November 2024, ConocoPhillips completed the $22.5 billion all-stock deal to acquire Marathon Oil, which the company touted immediately accretive to cash flow, earnings per share, and return of capital per share.
ConocoPhillips operates in 14 countries, including the United States, Canada, Norway, Australia, and Malaysia. The Houston-based company is also the cheapest stock in this comparison, with an inexpensive valuation of just 12.3x 2025 earnings estimates.
Like ExxonMobil and Chevron, ConocoPhillips is an attractive dividend stock, with a solid yield of 3.5%. In recent years, ConocoPhillips has made Variable return on cash (VROC) dividend payments to shareholders in addition to its quarterly dividends, which varied based on factors like performance and free cash flow.
However, the company recently began incorporating these VROC payments into the quarterly dividend payments, which are paid concurrently with its quarterly dividends. In 2024, the company returned $9.1 billion to shareholders by repurchasing $5.5 billion worth of shares and paying out $3.6 billion in dividends and VROC payments. The company plans to return an impressive $10 billion to shareholders through this combination in 2025.
Is ConocoPhillips a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Turning to Wall Street, COP earns a Strong Buy consensus rating based on 20 Buys, one Hold, and zero Sell ratings assigned in the past three months. The average analyst COP stock price target of $123.76 implies 35% upside potential from current levels.
These U.S. Hydrocarbon Titans Can Weather Any Storm
ExxonMobil, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips offer inexpensive valuations, attractive dividend yields, and strong histories of returning capital to shareholders, and they offer the potential for significant upside if and when oil prices rebound.
I like all three of these choices as strong options for investors, though I currently view Chevron and ConocoPhillips as the most attractive. I like Chevron based on its 4.9% dividend yield and its long history of growing its dividend over many decades, and I’m bullish on ConocoPhillips based on its cheap valuation, compelling combination of shareholder returns, and the substantial potential upside suggested by its average analyst price target.
