Oil prices jump after Iran says critical Strait of Hormuz to remain shut
The recent attack on Iran by the U.S. and Israel could fuel higher oil prices. WTI crude recently crossed above $77 per barrel in the United States, and may continue to rise in the event of a prolonged conflict in the Middle East.
In the meantime, income investors can find strong dividend yields in the energy sector. The following 3 Big Oil stocks are attractive for dividend investors because of their steady dividend increases along with market-beating yields.
1. EOG Resources (EOG)
EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG) is a crude oil and natural gas company headquartered in Houston, Texas. It is principally engaged in the exploration, development, and production of crude oil and natural gas with reserves in the United States, Canada, Trinidad, and China.
EOG has three operating segments split by geographical areas: Crude oil, Natural Gas, and Natural Gas Liquids (NGL). The Crude Oil segment is the largest, accounting for 79% of revenue.
On February 25th, 2026, EOG reported fourth quarter and full year 2025 results, delivering another strong year. For the fourth quarter, revenue came in at $6.2 billion, while net income totaled $1.6 billion, or $2.95 per share. Adjusted net income was $1.7 billion, or $3.05 per share.
For the full year, EOG generated revenue of $24.1 billion and net income of $6.8 billion, or $11.70 per share. Adjusted operating cash flow for the year totaled $12.4 billion, while capital expenditures were $6.8 billion, resulting in free cash flow of approximately $5.6 billion.
Production for the year averaged 1,315 MBOE/D, exceeding the midpoint of guidance, driven by strong well productivity in the Delaware Basin, Eagle Ford, and Utica following the Encino acquisition.
During 2025, the company returned $3.9 billion to shareholders through regular dividends and share repurchases. The balance sheet remains strong, with long-term debt of approximately $4.6 billion and a net debt-to-capitalization ratio near 12%.
2. Exxon Mobil (XOM)
Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) is a diversified energy giant with a market capitalization above $600 billion. In 2025, the upstream segment generated 74% of the total earnings of Exxon while the downstream and chemical segments generated 23% and 3% of the total earnings, respectively.
In late January, Exxon reported (1/30/26) financial results for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025. Production grew 5% sequentially thanks to the start-up of many projects but the price of oil decreased significantly.
As a result, earnings-per-share decreased -9% sequentially, from $1.88 to $1.71. The price of oil has remained below $70 in the last six months, as OPEC has begun to unwind its production cuts and global economy has decelerated.
Consequently, annual earnings-per-share declined -10%. Exxon repurchased $69 billion of shares in 2022-2025 and intends to repurchase $20 billion of shares this year.
Exxon is expecting meaningful production growth until 2027 and a much lower breakeven point thanks to the addition of exceptionally low-cost barrels. The recent acquisition of Pioneer will be a major growth driver of Exxon, which now expects to reach production of about 2.0 million barrels per day in the Permian Basin by 2027.
Guyana, one of the most exciting growth projects in the energy sector, is the other major growth project of Exxon. Exxon has more than tripled its estimated reserves in the area, from 3.2 billion barrels in early 2018 to about 11.0 billion barrels now.
XOM has increased its dividend for over 40 years and shares currently yield 2.7%.
3. Chevron Corporation (CVX)
Chevron (NYSE:CVX) is the fourth-largest oil major in the world based on its market cap of $378 billion, behind only Saudi Aramco, Shell (NYSE:SHEL) and ExxonMobil (XOM).
In 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025, Chevron generated 84%, 79%, 74%, 92% and 81% of its earnings from its upstream segment, respectively.
Its close industry peers produce crude oil and natural gas at approximately equal ratios, but Chevron is more leveraged to the oil price, with a 72/28 production ratio.
Moreover, as Chevron prices some natural gas volumes based on the oil price, nearly 75% of its output is priced based on the oil price. As a result, Chevron is more leveraged to the oil price than the other oil majors.
In late January, Chevron reported (1/30/26) financial results for the fourth quarter of 2025. Production surged 21% over the prior year’s quarter, to a new all-time high, primarily thanks to the acquisition of Hess. However, the company was hurt by lower oil prices. As a result, earnings-per-share decreased -26%, from $2.06 to $1.52.
Chevron’s production grew 4% in 2023 and 7% in 2024 thanks to sustained growth in the Permian Basin and the acquisition of PDC Energy. It also grew 12% in 2025 thanks to the acquisition of Hess. Chevron has more than doubled the value of its assets in the Permian in the last seven years thanks to new discoveries and technological advances.
Chevron is a member of the exclusive Dividend Aristocrats list thanks to its 39 consecutive years of dividend increases.
Disclosure: No positions in any stocks mentioned