In this article, we are going to discuss the 12 best LNG stocks to buy in 2026.
American LNG is becoming the backbone of global gas supply amid the Middle East conflict, and could continue to gain ground for years even after a resolution. The Iranian missile attacks on the Qatari LNG infrastructure have significantly disrupted the country’s LNG supplies to buyers, especially in Asia, and repairs could take years.
This presented a significant opportunity for the United States to emerge as the global market’s anchor supplier, and that is exactly what it is doing. US LNG exports hit a record high in March as plants ran above nameplate capacity and new units started up, with shipments to Asia more than doubling from the previous month. The trend continued in April when nearly a quarter of all American LNG shipments went to Asia, marking a sharp increase since the conflict began in late February.
At the same time, Europe also remains a major destination for US LNG, as the bloc moves away from Russian gas supplies amid the invasion of Ukraine. Notably, China has also opened up its doors once again and is set to receive its first shipments of US LNG in more than a year next month, marking a potential thawing of energy ties following President Trump’s recent trip to Beijing.
Given the high demand and access to new markets, the United States, which is already the largest exporter of LNG in the world, is set to double its export capacity by the end of this decade.
With that said, here are the Best LNG Stocks to Buy Now.
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Our Methodology
To collect data for this article, we referred to several stock screeners to find companies operating in the liquefied natural gas sector. We then ranked these stocks by the number of hedge funds invested in them at the end of Q4 2025, as per the Insider Monkey database. We limited our final selection to companies that have recently reported noteworthy developments likely to impact investor sentiment. The following are the Best LNG Stocks to Buy According to Hedge Funds.
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 498.7% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 303 percentage points (see more details here).
12. Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE:VG)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 22
Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE:VG) develops and constructs LNG export projects to provide clean, affordable energy to the world. The company is currently one of the largest LNG exporters in the United States.
On May 20, Raymond James bumped up its price target on Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE:VG) from $14 to $16, while keeping an ‘Outperform’ rating on the shares. The target boost reflects an upside of over 15% from the current price level.
The analyst firm views Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE:VG) as an attractive LNG growth platform, citing its differentiated, repeatable development model that enables the execution of rapid American LNG projects. However, Raymond James highlighted the mixed near-term sentiment around the stock, driven by the macro volatility in the LNG sector amid the US-Iran war and the uncertainty surrounding the company’s arbitration issues. The analyst also noted that the Middle East conflict has propelled the LNG pricing curve higher than originally assumed in its positive thesis.
Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE:VG) also received a boost earlier on May 12 when it reported strong results for its Q1 2026, placing it among the 10 Energy Stocks That Crushed Earnings Estimates in the First Quarter.
11. NextDecade Corporation (NASDAQ:NEXT)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 26
NextDecade Corporation (NASDAQ:NEXT) engages in the construction and development activities related to the liquefaction of natural gas in the United States.
On May 13, Citi initiated coverage of NextDecade Corporation (NASDAQ:NEXT) with a ‘Buy’ rating and a price target of $11, indicating an upside of 30% from the current levels.
With approximately 48 million tonnes per annum of potential liquefaction capacity currently under construction and in development at its Rio Grande LNG site, NextDecade Corporation (NASDAQ:NEXT) offers exposure to one of the last large-scale LNG export facilities on the US Gulf Coast. With the soaring global energy demand and supply disruptions in the Middle East, Citi expects American LNG to become an “increasingly coveted commodity”.
NextDecade revealed earlier this month that it is working to introduce first gas into the facility in the second half of this year and produce the first LNG from Train 1 in the first half of 2027. As of March 2026, Trains 1 and 2 are 67.8% complete. Train 3 is 44.2% complete, and Trains 4 and 5 are 10.6% and 6.8% complete, respectively.
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