In this article, we are going to discuss the best natural gas stocks to buy right now.
US natural gas futures surged by approximately 10% in 2025, driven by high energy demand from data centers and record LNG exports from the country. However, after hitting a near three-year high in early December, natural gas prices have since fallen by over 34% due to forecasts pointing to warmer temperatures and, hence, lower heating demand.
In its Short-Term Energy Outlook report last month, the US Energy Information Administration projected domestic gas consumption to rise from a record 90.4 bcfd in 2024 to 91.8 bcfd in 2025. The booming LNG sector has added significantly to the demand, as according to preliminary data from LSEG, the United States shipped 111 million metric tons of liquefied natural gas in 2025, making it the world’s largest LNG exporter by a wide margin.
The growth was primarily driven by new LNG export projects coming into service, helped by President Trump lifting the moratorium on new facilities after he took office. Europe remains the top destination for American LNG, as the region continues its efforts to replace Russian gas amid the war in Ukraine.
American LNG exports are expected to continue to support natural gas prices in 2026 as more capacity comes online, including the 18 million metric tons per annum Golden Pass project in Texas.
Our Methodology
To collect data for this article, we observed companies in the natural gas sector and shortlisted those with at least 5% upside potential, according to Wall Street analysts as of January 5, 2026. We then ranked stocks by the number of hedge funds invested in them as of the end of Q3 2025, according to the Insider Monkey database, and selected the top ten names. To maintain institutional relevance, we have only included stocks with a market cap of $2 billion or more. The following are the Best Natural Gas Stocks to Buy Now.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 427.7% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 264 percentage points (see more details here).
10. Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 35
Upsider Potential as of January 5: 33.98%
Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) is one of the largest and most diversified midstream energy companies in North America, with a strategic footprint across all major US production basins.
Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) announced on December 18 that it is suspending development of its Lake Charles LNG export facility in Louisiana, amid fears of a looming LNG supply glut next year. Instead, the company wants to focus its attention and funds on the natural gas pipelines, which it believes is a more lucrative business.
The strategic decision comes as Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) still sees itself as a pipeline operator rather than an LNG-focused company, especially with LNG margins getting squeezed due to lower prices. In this regard, the company also announced it would increase the transportation capacity of its planned Transwestern pipeline expansion to meet significant regional growth demand. The diameter of the Desert Southwest project’s main pipeline will be raised from 42 to 48 inches, increasing its capacity to as much as 2.3 billion cf/day. As a result, the project cost has increased to $5.6 billion from $5.3 billion.
Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) also continues to benefit from the rising energy demand amid the ongoing AI boom, and over the last few months, the company has announced several agreements with hyperscalers to provide their data centers with natural gas.
9. Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 38
Upsider Potential as of January 5: 26.67%
Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE) is an integrated energy company with oil and natural gas production operations in Canada and the Asia Pacific region, and upgrading, refining, and marketing operations in Canada and the United States.
Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE) received a boost on January 2 when Goldman Sachs analyst Neil Mehta reinstated coverage of the stock with a ‘Buy’ rating and a price target of $20, indicating an upside of 20% from the current share price. The analyst expects Cenovus to generate ‘strong’ free cash flow over the long term, especially after the acquisition of MEG Energy in November. The multi-billion dollar deal has added 110,000 bpd of long-life, low-cost assets to the company’s portfolio, consolidating a core growth area in northern Alberta. The MEG acquisition is expected to be immediately accretive to funds flow. Cenovus expects to produce between 945,000 and 985,000 boed in 2026, representing approximately 4% YoY growth.
Moreover, the analyst highlighted Cenovus’ sale of 50% interest in the Wood River and Borger refineries to Phillips 66 in September, adding that it has improved the company’s fundamentals. The Canadian energy operator had been experiencing underperformance at some of its US refineries, and the aforementioned transaction has now simplified its downstream business and sharpened its focus on assets tied to heavy oil operations.
With an annual dividend yield of 3.49%, Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE) is included among the 15 Global Dividend Stocks to Diversify Your Portfolio.
