We recently published a list of 11 Best American Energy Stocks to Buy Now. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Hess Corporation (NYSE:HES) stands against other best American energy stocks to buy now.
On Friday, April 4, oil futures reached multiyear lows following China’s response to the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration. This sparks fear of a fall in demand for oil amid a full-blown trade war. The US benchmark for oil prices, West Texas Intermediate (WTI), fell over 7% to close at $61.99 per barrel and Brent crude futures dropped more than 6% to settle at $65.58. Crude has not traded at these levels since 2021.
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Crude losses worsened as China announced it would impose additional tariffs of 34% on US goods. This announcement came as a response to President Trump’s levies, which include increased duties on China-made imports.
President Trump’s tariffs saw financial markets react strongly and crude oil prices sinking as traders assessed the potential impact of a trade war on demand. Energy-related stocks were set to extend losses after dragging the market down with sell-offs in the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq.
Crude losses also accelerated because of a decision by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, OPEC+, to increase supply approximately three times more than expected starting in May.
Angie Gildea, KPMG US energy leader, said that markets are still “digesting tariffs” and that the combination of higher oil supply and concerns about a weaker global economy is putting downward pressure on oil prices. She pointed out that this could lead to a new chapter in a volatile market.
Although energy was not included in the latest tariffs announced by the Trump administration on Wednesday, April 2, the escalation of a global trade war could hurt oil demand.
Our Methodology
To compile our list of the 11 best American energy stocks to buy now, we used stock screeners from Finviz and Yahoo Finance to find the largest energy companies. We sorted our results based on market capitalization and picked the top 25 American stocks. Next, we focused on the 11 stocks most favored by institutional investors. Data for the hedge fund sentiment surrounding each stock was taken from Insider Monkey’s Q4 2024 database of more than 1,000 elite hedge funds. Finally, the 11 best American energy stocks to buy now were ranked in ascending order based on the number of hedge funds holding stakes in them as of Q4 2024.
Why do we care about what hedge funds do? 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 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
An oil tanker sailing across the horizon, conveying the importance of crude oil transportation for the company.
Hess Corporation (NYSE:HES)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 92
Hess Corporation (NYSE:HES) is a leading independent energy company that focuses on exploring oil, gas, and energy solutions. The company has a strong position in the Bakken in North Dakota and is one of the largest producers in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. It also operates offshore Guyana and is a major natural gas producer and supplier to Peninsular Malaysia and Thailand. Hess Corporation (NYSE:HES) is one of the best American stocks to invest in.
On February 10, Raymond James reiterated a “Market Perform” rating on Hess Corporation (NYSE:HES) following the company’s Q4 2024 earnings, which exceeded expectations. Hess Corporation (NYSE:HES) reported earnings per share (EPS) of $1.76 to surpass the street’s projection of $1.53, and cash flow per share (CFPS) of $4.93 to beat the $4.29 forecast by about 15%. This success was driven by higher-than-expected total production and oil and natural gas realizations as Hess Corporation (NYSE:HES) reported a total production output of 495 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day (mboe/d) for Q4 2024, surpassing the projected 481 mboe/d. Interestingly, the company’s operating costs were also 7% less than Raymond James’s projections. Despite this performance, Raymond James slightly reduced its production outlook for the first quarter of 2025 to 469 mboe/d because of winter weather impacts in the Bakken region and maintenance at the Payara development in Guyana. Additionally, keeping in mind Hess Corporation’s (NYSE:HES) ongoing expansion efforts in Guyana’s Stabroek Block, Raymond James adjusted its 2025 capital expenditure projection to align with the guidance midpoint of $4.5 billion, but slightly below street estimates of $4.6 billion.
Overall, HES ranks 2nd on our list of best mid cap growth stocks. While we acknowledge the potential of HES, 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. 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 HES 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.
