Crude oil prices have gotten off to a roaring start in 2023. West Texas Intermediate, the primary U.S. oil price benchmark, has risen from around $70 a barrel at the beginning of the year to more than $85 a barrel this month. Several factors have fueled oil prices, including growing tensions in the Middle East. Oil could soar even higher if those tensions boil over into a regional war.

Rising oil prices will benefit oil companies. They should produce more free cash flow, giving them more money to return to investors. While higher prices should provide a boost to most oil stocks, Devon Energy (NYSE: DVN), Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ: FANG), and ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) stand out as three of the top ways to cash in as crude prices rise.

Devon Energy offers investors one of the best ways to cash in on higher oil prices. The oil company pays an innovative fixed-plus-variable dividend. It pays a base dividend each quarter of $0.22 per share, which it recently increased by 10%. That payout gives it a 1.7% dividend yield at the recent share price, which is above the S 500's 1.4% dividend yield.

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Source Fool.com