In this piece, we will take a look at the 12 most profitable natural gas stocks. For more gas stocks, head on over to 5 Most Profitable Natural Gas Stocks.
Natural gas is turning out to be one of the more popular petroleum fuels in the world right now. This is because when compared to gasoline, diesel, or kerosene, natural gas produces far less carbon dioxide and few other pollutants such as sulfur dioxide. This is part of the reason why the U.S. – one of the world’s largest energy consumers – has shifted its energy production to natural gas in a bid to reduce carbon dioxide emissions while still exploiting the massive energy generation potential of petroleum products. In fact, data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) shows that natural gas was the second most widely fuel in the U.S., accounting for 32% of the energy consumption in 2021. While petroleum was still the largest, it was used mostly for transportation purposes, as natural gas was the dominant fuel of choice in residential, industrial, and commercial use cases. Within the electricity sector, natural gas also led the pack and accounted for 32% of the total usage, and overall, natural gas accounted for 36% of the U.S. primary energy production. Finally, U.S. natural gas production also outstripped usage in 2021.
The dominance of America in the global natural gas supply chain also grew in 2022 in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Europe, which had come to rely on Russian natural gas was in for a rough time as the Ukraine invasion saw its energy supplies disrupted and highlighted the need to drift away from Russian energy. This became a difficult task since Russia was the world’s second largest natural gas producer in 2021, according to data from the BP Statistical Review. However, some progress is being made in this area, with the European Union having earmarked 210 billion euros to completely wean itself off of Russian fuels by 2030.
This plan requires shifting away to non-Russian sources, saving energy, and spending more on renewable energy sources at the same time. Where Russia loses, the U.S. wins and this Cold War adage is also true for the liquefied natural gas (LNG) market. The European search for substitutes has led to America’s shores, with data from Kpler showing that as of November 2022, U.S. LNG exporters had boosted their shipments to Europe by a whopping 137% as they ended up supplying more than half of Europe’s imported LNG.
Finally, the global natural gas market was estimated to be worth $955 billion in 2022 and will grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.3% this year to be worth a little over $1 trillion by the end of 2023 according to The Business Research Company. From 2023 until 2027, the industry is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 7.5% and be worth $1.3 trillion. Some of the top profitable natural gas companies part of our list today are Public Joint Stock Company Gazprom (MCX:GAZP.ME), Coterra Energy Inc. (NYSE:CTRA), and Tourmaline Oil Corp. (OTCMKTS:TRMLF).
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Our Methodology
We studied the oil and gas industry in detail and sifted out the firms that have the largest market capitalization and rely primarily on natural gas or natural liquids for their products. Then, the net profit for all of these was calculated and they were ranked with this metric after which the top 12 companies were chosen.
12 Most Profitable Natural Gas Stocks
12. Birchcliff Energy Ltd. (TSX:BIR.TO)
Trailing Twelve Months Net Income: $56.43 million (1CNY = 0.15USD)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2022: N/A
Birchcliff Energy Ltd. (TSX:BIR.TO) is a Canadian oil and gas company that is headquartered in Calgary, Canada. The firm’s primary interests are located in Grand Prairie, Alberta and it had 1 billion barrels of proven and probable oil equivalent reserves as of December 2021. Through its properties, Birchcliff Energy Ltd. (TSX:BIR.TO) produces several petroleum products such as natural gas, oil, natural gas liquids, and condensate. However, natural gas accounts for the largest share, as during the first three quarters of 2022, it accounted for 62,000 barrels of oil equivalent of production per day out of the total 78,454 boe.
Tourmaline Oil Corp. (OTCMKTS:TRMLF), Birchcliff Energy Ltd. (TSX:BIR.TO), Public Joint Stock Company Gazprom (MCX:GAZP.ME), and Coterra Energy Inc. (NYSE:CTRA) make the cut for the most profitable natural gas companies.
11. Peyto Exploration & Development Corp. (TSX:PEY.TO)
Trailing Twelve Months Net Income: $520 million (1CAD = 0.75USD)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2022: N/A
Peyto Exploration & Development Corp. (TSX:PEY.TO) is a pure-play Canadian natural gas company. The firm focuses primarily on extracting natural gas from the reserves found in the Albertan Deep Basin. Peyto Exploration & Development Corp. (TSX:PEY.TO)’s total proven plus probable petroleum reserves stood at 904 million barrels of oil equivalent as of December 2021. It claims to be the fifth largest Canadian natural gas producer and owns 12 gas plants that are capable of 970 million cubic feet of gas per day.
The firm also has a strong climate control policy in action, through which it has reduced greenhouse gas emissions intensity by 28% since 2013. At the same time, methane flaring, which is a controversial practice in the gas production industry, has dropped by a strong 59% since 2013. For the nine months that ended in September 2022, Peyto Exploration & Development Corp. (TSX:PEY.TO) brought in CAD$1.2 billion in revenue Out of this, natural gas accounted for the lion’s share, by bringing the company CAD$1.1 billion.
10. Comstock Resources, Inc. (NYSE:CRK)
Trailing Twelve Months Net Income: $981 million
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2022: 22
Comstock Resources, Inc. (NYSE:CRK) is an American energy company that is headquartered in Frisco, Texas. The firm has trillions of cubic feet of proven natural gas reserves.
By the end of its third fiscal quarter in September 2022, Comstock Resources, Inc. (NYSE:CRK)’s revenues stood at $1.1 billion for the nine months ending in September. Out of these, $994 million were from natural gas sales. 22 of the 920 hedge funds polled by Insider Monkey during Q3 2022 had held a stake in the company.
D.E. Shaw’s D E Shaw is Comstock Resources, Inc. (NYSE:CRK)’s largest investor. It owns 4.7 million shares that are worth $82 million.
9. Range Resources Corporation (NYSE:RRC)
Trailing Twelve Months Net Income: $1.2 billion
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2022: 40
Range Resources Corporation (NYSE:RRC) is an energy company that is focused on the upstream segment of the oil supply chain. The firm has more than a thousand operational wells in the U.S.
For the nine months that ended in September 2022, Range Resources Corporation (NYSE:RRC) sold $3.8 billion of natural gas, natural gas liquids, and oil. Out of these, $3.5 billion were from natural gas and natural gas liquids. Insider Monkey took a look at 920 hedge fund holdings for last year’s third quarter to discover that 40 had bought the company’s shares.
Range Resources Corporation (NYSE:RRC)’s largest investor is Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group which owns 3.9 million shares that are worth $98 million.
8. Southwestern Energy Company (NYSE:SWN)
Trailing Twelve Months Net Income: $1.3 billion
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2022: 51
Southwestern Energy Company (NYSE:SWN) is a multi stage oil and gas company involved in the production and marketing of petroleum products. It is based in Spring, Texas.
Southwestern Energy Company (NYSE:SWN) produces and sells natural gas, oil, and natural gas liquids. Out of these, natural gas is the dominant fuel, as it accounted for $7 billion of the $11.6 billion in revenues it brought in year to date September. After digging through 920 hedge fund portfolios for last year’s September quarter, Insider Monkey found out that 51 had bought Southwestern Energy Company (NYSE:SWN)’s shares.
Southwestern Energy Company (NYSE:SWN)’s largest investor is Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies which owns 26 million shares that are worth $161 million.
7. ARC Resources Ltd. (TSE:ARX.TO)
Trailing Twelve Months Net Income: $1.72 billion (1CAD = 0.75USD)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2022: N/A
ARC Resources Ltd. (TSE:ARX.TO) is a Canadian oil and gas company that was set up in 1996 and is headquartered in Calgary. The bulk of its production assets are also located in Canada and are concentrated in British Columbia and Alberta. The firm revealed at the end of its fourth quarter of 2022 that it had delivered a record average of 359,730 barrels of oil equivalent per day, out of which 61% was natural gas.
6. EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT)
Trailing Twelve Months Net Income: $1.8 billion
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2022: 57
EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT) is a pure play American natural gas production company. The firm had 2.1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves as of December 2021.
EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT) reported in its third quarter financial results that as of the nine months ending in September 2022, it had generated $9.5 billion in revenue from sales out of which $9 billion came from natural gas. 57 of the 920 hedge funds part of Insider Monkey’s Q3 2022 survey had invested in the firm.
Out of these, Eric W. Mandelblatt’s Soroban Capital Partners is EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT)’s largest investor. It owns 6.4 million shares that are worth $263 million.
EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT), Public Joint Stock Company Gazprom (MCX:GAZP.ME), Coterra Energy Inc. (NYSE:CTRA), and Tourmaline Oil Corp. (OTCMKTS:TRMLF) make our pick of the world’s most profitable natural gas firms.
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Disclosure: None. 12 Most Profitable Natural Gas Stocks is originally published on Insider Monkey.