20 oil stocks passing a quality screen as investors wonder what Iran will do next

Deep Dive

Nobody knows how badly the international oil market might be disrupted by Iran. But if you want to take advantage of the uncertainty, a screen encompassing debt levels and cash flow can limit your risk.

Last Updated: June 23, 2025 at 11:10 a.m. ET
First Published: June 23, 2025 at 11:04 a.m. ET

If you believe this is the right moment to purchase oil stocks, you can take a broad approach by owning baskets of companies through exchange-traded funds. But if you wish to invest in individual companies involved in oil production and distribution, you need to be more careful. You can begin your research by looking at data points that might help limit risk.

Following the U.S. bombing attacks against nuclear facilities in Iran, there was no way of knowing how much of an effort Iran’s government might make to follow through on threats of closing the Strait of Hormuz or otherwise disrupting the flow of oil.