Energy is one of those sectors that is connected to all spheres of everyday life. The ubiquity of electricity is one of the main factors that attract investors, as energy companies will always be able to find buyers for their products and will never lack sales. This is one of the reasons why energy companies are also seen as a hedge against inflation, Yahoo writes.

The energy sector has gone on a wild ride this year, with the S&P 500 energy index up 61% YTD. Analysts pointed to 2 stocks from the TipRanks database that have been in high demand lately and have been given a “strongly recommended to buy” rating. At least one of them could show upside potential above 60% next year.

1- Denbury Resources Inc (NYSE:DEN) is a company that is both a hydrocarbon and clean energy company. It has focused on tertiary oil production or enhanced oil recovery in its core producing fields; in addition, it is a leader in carbon capture, utilization, and storage technologies. It utilizes its carbon reserves by injecting them into the ground to displace recoverable oil. The oil is extracted using both conventional and enhanced oil recovery technology.

For the third quarter of this year, its revenue rose 28% year-on-year to $439.49 million, while net income totaled $250 million. Stifel analyst Nate Pendleton’s $144 target price suggests the stock could rise 64% over the next year. With an average target price of $118.80 and a current trading price of $87.61, the stock has an average upside potential of 36% per year.

2. Vistra Energy Corp (NYSE:VST) is this Texas-based utility company that is engaged in the electric power industry, including the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity. The latest quarterly report showed that Vistra’s revenue was $5.15 billion compared to $2.99 billion in the same quarter last year, an increase of 72%. The company reported net income of $678 million, of which $667 million was reported as net income from current operations. One silver lining is that the company has been building up its liquid assets, even as it pursued an aggressive program to return capital to shareholders. Wolfe Research analyst Steve Fleischman suggests a target price of $32 per share, which implies a one-year upside of about 35%. On Wall Street, its shares are valued at $23.79, and its average target price of $31.40 implies an annualized upside of about 32%.