14 Best American Energy Stocks To Buy According to Analysts

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

Number of Hedge Fund Investors  in Q1 2024: 22

Average Analyst Share Price Target Upside: 329%

Average Analyst Share Price Target: $10

W&T Offshore, Inc. (NYSE:WTI) is a Texas based oil and gas producer with operations in the Gulf of Mexico. Like other US oil production firms, it is also growing through acquisition despite being limited to offshore drilling due to its presence in the Gulf of Mexico. W&T Offshore, Inc. (NYSE:WTI) closed a $72 million deal to expand its operations in the region in January 2024, and it contributed to a 30% growth in its production during the first quarter of 2024. The move also led to W&T Offshore, Inc. (NYSE:WTI)’s operating income growing by 10% over the previous quarter, to sit at $49.4 million. However, at the same time, the firm has to ensure that its growing production base does not suffer from any production shutdowns and also ensure that the new wells that it has acquired are able to profitably produce.

During the Q4 2023 earnings call, W&T Offshore, Inc. (NYSE:WTI)’s management shed light on its efficiency improvements when it shared:

“So while we were very busy from a financial acquisition standpoint, we also executed operationally. So for the first, well, for the full year 2023, we generated $15.6 million in net income, $183.2 million in adjusted EBITDA and $63.3 million in free cash flow. We delivered strong production of 34,900 barrels of oil equivalent per day. And we continue to pay down debt with net debt falling to $217.3 million. We adopted a quarterly cash dividend policy paying an initial dividend in December 2023 and announced the first quarter 2024 payment will occur later this month. So we continue to execute at a high level generating strong adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow despite decreases in pricing because it’s such an integral part of our strategy, I’d like to reiterate one more time.

The fourth quarter of 2023 marked the 24th consecutive quarter we have generated free cash flow. So coupled with our ability to pay down debt and improve our balance sheet, we’re in a strong financial position in 2024 and we remain focused on operational execution to build on these solid results.”

WTI leads American energy stocks when we talk about analyst sentiment. But our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than WTI but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

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