15 Energy Stocks Analysts Love the Most in 2018

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There are more than 450 energy companies traded on public markets. Given the sheer number of pipeline companies, power plant operators, oil and gas production companies and other energy stocks, it can be hard to identify which energy companies are going to outperform the market.

Fortunately, Wall Street's brightest minds have already done this for us. Every year, analyst issue approximately 8,000 distinct recommendations for energy companies. Analysts don't always get their "buy" ratings right, but it's worth taking a hard look when several analysts from different brokerages and research firm are giving "strong buy" and "buy" ratings to the same energy stock.

This slide show lists the 15 energy companies that have the highest average analyst recommendations from Wall Street's equities research analysts over the last 12 months.

#1 - FTS International (NYSE:FTSI)

Consensus Rating: Buy
Rating Score: 3.0
Ratings Breakdown: 9 Buy Ratings, 0 Hold Ratings, 0 Sell Ratings.
Consensus Price Target: $29.2857 (48.5% Upside)

FTS International, Inc. provides hydraulic fracturing services in North America. Its services enhance hydrocarbon flow from oil and natural gas wells drilled by exploration and production companies (E&P), in shale and other unconventional resource formations. The company's wireline services primarily consist of setting plugs between hydraulic fracturing stages, creating perforations within hydraulic fracturing stages, and logging the characteristics of resource formations. It operates in five unconventional basins in the United States, including the Permian Basin, the SCOOP/STACK Formation, the Marcellus/Utica Shale, the Eagle Ford Shale, and the Haynesville Shale. As of December 31, 2017, it owned 51 wireline units; and had approximately 1.6 million hydraulic horsepower across 32 fleets. The company serves E&P companies that specialize in unconventional oil and natural gas resources. FTS International, Inc. was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas.

#2 - Cactus (NYSE:WHD)

Consensus Rating: Buy
Rating Score: 3.0
Ratings Breakdown: 9 Buy Ratings, 0 Hold Ratings, 0 Sell Ratings.
Consensus Price Target: $31.20 (6.9% Upside)

Cactus, Inc. designs, manufactures, sells, and rents a range of wellheads and pressure control equipment. The company's principal products include Cactus SafeDrill wellhead systems, frac stacks, zipper manifolds, and production trees. It also provides field services, such as 24-hour service crews to assist with the installation, maintenance, and safe handling of the wellhead and pressure control equipment, as well as repair services for equipment that it sells or rents. The company sells or rents its products for onshore unconventional oil and gas wells that are utilized during the drilling, completion, and production phases of its customers' wells. It operates 14 service centers in the United States, as well as a service center in Eastern Australia. The company was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

#3 - Consol Energy (NYSE:CEIX)

Consensus Rating: Buy
Rating Score: 3.0
Ratings Breakdown: 3 Buy Ratings, 0 Hold Ratings, 0 Sell Ratings.
Consensus Price Target: $36.00 (6.2% Upside)

CONSOL Energy Inc. produces and exports bituminous thermal and crossover metallurgical coal. The company owns and operates its mining operations in the Northern Appalachian Basin. Its flagship operation is the Pennsylvania Mining Complex (PAMC), which comprises three underground mines, including Bailey, Enlow Fork, and Harvey. The company also owns and operates the CONSOL Marine Terminal located in the port of Baltimore. As of December 31, 2017, it controlled 735.5 million tons of proven and probable coal reserves at PAMC. In addition, it controls approximately 1.6 billion tons of greenfield thermal and metallurgical coal reserves located in the coal-producing basins of the eastern United States. CONSOL Energy Inc. was founded in 1864 and is headquartered in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania.

#4 - Solaris Oilfield Infra (NYSE:SOI)

Consensus Rating: Buy
Rating Score: 2.9
Ratings Breakdown: 13 Buy Ratings, 1 Hold Ratings, 0 Sell Ratings.
Consensus Price Target: $19.2273 (6.8% Upside)

Solaris Oilfield Infrastructure, Inc. manufactures and sells patented mobile proppant management systems to unload, store, and deliver proppant at oil and natural gas well sites in the United States. The company's systems are designed for transferring large quantities of proppant to the well sites. It also provides real-time inventory management solutions for proppant mining, rail shipping, and transloading operations. The company serves oil and natural gas exploration and production, as well as oilfield service companies. Solaris Oilfield Infrastructure, Inc. was founded in 2014 and is based in Houston, Texas.

#5 - Vestas Wind System (OTCMKTS:VWDRY)

Consensus Rating: Buy
Rating Score: 2.7
Ratings Breakdown: 2 Buy Ratings, 1 Hold Ratings, 0 Sell Ratings.
Consensus Price Target: N/A

Vestas Wind Systems A/S develops, manufactures, sells, and services wind turbines worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Power solutions and Service. The Project segment sells wind power plants, wind turbines, etc. The Service segment engages in the sale of service contracts, spare parts, and related activities. The company was founded in 1898 and is headquartered in Aarhus, Denmark.

#6 - Viper Energy Partners (NASDAQ:VNOM)

Consensus Rating: Buy
Rating Score: 3.0
Ratings Breakdown: 12 Buy Ratings, 0 Hold Ratings, 0 Sell Ratings.
Consensus Price Target: $27.5833 (-3.6% Upside)

Viper Energy Partners LP owns, acquires, and exploits oil and natural gas properties in North America. The company holds mineral interests covering an area of approximately 43,843 net acres in the Permian Basin, West Texas. As of December 31, 2017, its estimated proved oil and natural gas reserves consisted of 38,246 thousand barrels of crude oil equivalent. Viper Energy Partners GP LLC operates as the general partner of the company. The company was founded in 2013 and is based in Midland, Texas. Viper Energy Partners LP is a subsidiary of Diamondback Energy, Inc.

#7 - Enterprise Products (NYSE:EPD)

Consensus Rating: Buy
Rating Score: 3.0
Ratings Breakdown: 17 Buy Ratings, 0 Hold Ratings, 0 Sell Ratings.
Consensus Price Target: $30.8333 (16.0% Upside)

Enterprise Products Partners L.P. provides midstream energy services to producers and consumers of natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), crude oil, petrochemicals, and refined products. The company operates through four segments: NGL Pipelines & Services, Crude Oil Pipelines & Services, Natural Gas Pipelines & Services, and Petrochemical & Refined Products Services. The NGL Pipelines & Services segment offers natural gas processing and related NGL marketing services, as well as NGL export docks and related services. It operates approximately 19,600 miles of NGL pipelines; NGL and related product storage facilities; 14 NGL fractionators; and a liquefied petroleum gas and ethane export terminals, and related operations. The Crude Oil Pipelines & Services segment operates approximately 5,800 miles of crude oil pipelines; and crude oil storage and marine terminals located in Oklahoma and Texas, as well as a fleet of 495 tractor-trailer tank trucks used to transport crude oil. It also engages in crude oil marketing activities. The Natural Gas Pipelines & Services segment operates approximately 19,700 miles of natural gas pipeline systems to gather and transport natural gas in Colorado, Louisiana, New Mexico, Texas, and Wyoming. It leases underground salt dome natural gas storage facilities in Texas and Louisiana; owns an underground salt dome storage cavern in Texas; and markets natural gas. The Petrochemical & Refined Products Services segment operates propylene fractionation and related activities, including 800 miles of pipelines; butane isomerization complex, associated deisobutanizer units, and related pipeline assets; and octane enhancement and high purity isobutylene production facilities. It also operates approximately 4,100 miles of refined products pipelines; and terminals, as well as provides refined products marketing and marine transportation services. The company was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

#8 - Noble Energy (NYSE:NBL)

Consensus Rating: Buy
Rating Score: 2.9
Ratings Breakdown: 21 Buy Ratings, 3 Hold Ratings, 0 Sell Ratings.
Consensus Price Target: $40.9048 (21.1% Upside)

Noble Energy, Inc., an independent energy company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids worldwide. It owns, operates, develops, and acquires domestic midstream infrastructure assets in the DJ and Delaware Basins. It principal projects are primarily located in the US unconventional basins and various global offshore conventional basins. As of December 31, 2017, the company had approximately 1,965 million barrels oil equivalent of total proved reserves. Noble Energy, Inc. was founded in 1932 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

#9 - SolarEdge (NASDAQ:SEDG)

Consensus Rating: Buy
Rating Score: 2.8
Ratings Breakdown: 13 Buy Ratings, 2 Hold Ratings, 1 Sell Ratings.
Consensus Price Target: $48.25 (-12.6% Upside)

SolarEdge Technologies, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, and sells direct current (DC) optimized inverter systems for solar photovoltaic (PV) installations in Israel, the United States, the Netherlands, Europe, and internationally. The company's DC optimized inverter systems include power optimizers and inverters, as well as a cloud-based monitoring platform. Its products are used in a range of solar market segments, such as residential, commercial, and small utility-scale solar installations. The company sells its products directly to solar installers, as well as engineering, procurement, and construction firms; and indirectly to solar installers through distributors and electrical equipment wholesalers, as well as PV module manufacturers. SolarEdge Technologies, Inc. was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Herzliya, Israel.

#10 - Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD)

Consensus Rating: Buy
Rating Score: 2.9
Ratings Breakdown: 26 Buy Ratings, 4 Hold Ratings, 0 Sell Ratings.
Consensus Price Target: $216.9112 (11.3% Upside)

Pioneer Natural Resources Company operates as an independent oil and gas exploration and production company in the United States. The company explores for, develops, and produces oil, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and gas. It has operations primarily in the Permian Basin in West Texas, the Eagle Ford Shale play in South Texas, the Raton field in southeast Colorado, and the West Panhandle field in the Texas Panhandle. As of December 31, 2017, the company had proved undeveloped reserves and proved developed reserves of approximately 45 million barrels of oil, 22 million barrels of NGLs, and 291 billion cubic feet of gas; and owned interests in 10 gas processing plants and 4 treating facilities. Pioneer Natural Resources Company is headquartered in Irving, Texas.

#11 - Earthstone Energy (NYSE:ESTE)

Consensus Rating: Buy
Rating Score: 3.0
Ratings Breakdown: 8 Buy Ratings, 0 Hold Ratings, 0 Sell Ratings.
Consensus Price Target: $14.3750 (39.6% Upside)

Earthstone Energy, Inc., an oil and natural gas development and production company, operates in the up-stream segment of the oil and natural gas industry in the United States. Its asset portfolio includes the Midland Basin of west Texas and the Eagle Ford trend of south Texas. As of December 31, 2017, the company operated 91 gross Eagle Ford wells; and 12 gross Austin Chalk wells, as well as had 79,976 thousand barrels of oil equivalent (MBOE) of total proved reserves, 19,961 MBOE of proved developed reserves, and 60,015 MBOE of proved undeveloped reserves. Earthstone Energy, Inc. was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas.

#12 - Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC)

Consensus Rating: Buy
Rating Score: 2.7
Ratings Breakdown: 12 Buy Ratings, 5 Hold Ratings, 0 Sell Ratings.
Consensus Price Target: $80.7143 (1.2% Upside)

Marathon Petroleum Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in refining, marketing, retailing, and transporting petroleum products primarily in the United States. It operates through three segments: Refining & Marketing, Speedway, and Midstream. It refines crude oil and other feed stocks at its six refineries in the Gulf Coast and Midwest regions of the United States; and purchases refined products and ethanol for resale. Its refined products include gasoline, distillates, propane, feed stocks and special products, heavy fuel oil, and asphalt. It also sells transportation fuels and convenience products in the retail market through Speedway convenience stores; gathers, processes, and transports natural gas; gathers, transports, fractionates, stores, and markets natural gas liquids (NGLs); and transports and stores crude oil and refined products. It markets its refined products to resellers, consumers, independent retailers, wholesale customers, its Marathon brand jobbers and Speedway brand convenience stores, airlines, transportation companies, and utilities. It also exports its refined products. As of December 31, 2017, it owned and operated 18 asphalt terminals and 61 light products terminals; 2,744 convenience stores in 21 states; 289 transport trucks and 296 trailers; 1,999 leased and 19 owned railcars; and owned/leased and operated 1,613 miles of common carrier crude oil and 2,360 miles of common carrier products pipelines, as well as had 5,617 retail outlets in 20 states and the District of Columbia, and interests in 2,194 miles of crude oil and 1,917 miles of products pipelines. It also owns and operates 228 miles of private products pipelines; has ownership interests in 739 miles of common carrier crude oil pipeline and 1,741 miles of products pipelines; and distributes refined products through approximately 130 light products and 2 asphalt third-party terminals. The company was incorporated in 2009 and is headquartered in Findlay, Ohio.

#13 - Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR)

Consensus Rating: Buy
Rating Score: 2.7
Ratings Breakdown: 11 Buy Ratings, 4 Hold Ratings, 0 Sell Ratings.
Consensus Price Target: $33.9333 (2.8% Upside)

Matador Resources Company, an independent energy company, engages in the exploration, development, production, and acquisition of oil and natural gas resources in the United States. It operates in two segments, Exploration and Production, and Midstream. The company primarily holds interests in the Wolfcamp and Bone Spring plays in the Delaware Basin in Southeast New Mexico and West Texas. It also operates the Eagle Ford shale play in South Texas; and the Haynesville shale and Cotton Valley plays in Northwest Louisiana and East Texas. In addition, the company conducts midstream operations in support of its exploration, development, and production operations; provides natural gas processing and oil transportation services; and offers oil, natural gas, and salt water gathering, as well as salt water disposal services to third parties. As of December 31, 2017, its estimated total proved oil and natural gas reserves were 152.8 million barrels of oil equivalent, including 86.7 million stock tank barrels of oil and 396.2 billion cubic feet of natural gas. The company was formerly known as Matador Holdco, Inc. and changed its name to Matador Resources Company in August 2011. Matador Resources Company was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

#14 - Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU)

Consensus Rating: Buy
Rating Score: 2.8
Ratings Breakdown: 7 Buy Ratings, 2 Hold Ratings, 0 Sell Ratings.
Consensus Price Target: $42.00 (9.0% Upside)

Peabody Energy Corporation engages in coal mining business. The company operates through six segments: Powder River Basin Mining, Midwestern U.S. Mining, Western U.S. Mining, Australian Metallurgical Mining, Australian Thermal Mining, and Trading and Brokerage. It is involved in mining, preparation, and sale of thermal coal primarily to electric utilities; and metallurgical coal that include hard coking coal, semi-hard coking coal, semi-soft coking coal, and low-volatile pulverized coal injection for industrial customers. The company supplies coal primarily to electricity generators, industrial facilities, and steel manufacturers. It owns interests in 23 coal mining operations located in the United States and Australia. The company also engages in direct and brokered trading of coal and freight-related contracts, as well as provides transportation-related services, which involves financial derivative contracts and physical contracts. As of December 31, 2017, it had 5.2 billion tons of proven and probable coal reserves and approximately 600,000 acres of surface property through ownership and lease agreements. Peabody Energy Corporation was founded in 1883 and is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. On April 13, 2016, Peabody Energy Corporation and its subsidiaries filed a voluntary petition for reorganization under Chapter 11 in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.

#15 - C&J Energy Services (NYSE:CJ)

Consensus Rating: Buy
Rating Score: 2.9
Ratings Breakdown: 11 Buy Ratings, 1 Hold Ratings, 0 Sell Ratings.
Consensus Price Target: $38.00 (30.4% Upside)

C&J Energy Services, Inc. is a completion and production services company, which provides well construction, well completions and well services to the oil and gas industry. The Company operates through three segments: Completion Services, Well Support Services and Other Services. The Company also manufactures, repairs and refurbishes equipment used in the oilfield services industry. It operates in various North American onshore basins. Its Completion Services segment includes the hydraulic fracturing services, cased-hole wireline services, coiled tubing services and other well stimulation services. Its Well Support Services segment includes services, including rig services, fluid management services and other special well site services. Other services segment includes directional drilling services, equipment manufacturing and repair, specialty chemicals sales, research and technology, and the Middle East operations, as well as cementing services.

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