The stock market moved modestly higher on Thursday, as investors took heart from generally favorable economic data. The investing community is hoping that the U.S. economy can avoid a recession, and slight upward moves for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI +1.62%), S&P 500 (^GSPC +1.02%), and Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC +0.89%) showed continuing confidence in future prospects.
|
Index |
Daily Percentage Change |
Daily Point Change |
|---|---|---|
|
Dow |
+0.06% |
+19 |
|
S&P 500 |
+0.23% |
+10 |
|
Nasdaq |
+0.21% |
+27 |
Data source: Yahoo! Finance.
Most major indexes remain well below their record levels even after a big rally over the past six weeks. However, several stocks reached all-time highs on Thursday. Below, we'll take a closer look at Cheniere Energy (LNG +1.00%) and BJ's Wholesale Club (BJ +2.69%) to see why shareholders are more optimistic than ever about their respective outlooks.
Cheniere is a natural (gas) pick
Cheniere Energy shares picked up nearly 4% on Thursday. That brought the stock to roughly double what it traded for this time last year, and it's up nearly fivefold from its lows in early 2020.
It's not hard to understand why Cheniere is doing well. The boom in energy prices has helped companies throughout the sector. Natural gas futures have climbed to more than $9 in the U.S. market, reflecting the high demand for the clean-burning fuel as the amount of economic activity has returned to pre-pandemic levels.
NYSE: LNG
Key Data Points
Moreover, liquefied natural gas in particular has seen huge demand from the Russian invasion of Ukraine. European countries have relied on cheap Russian natural gas for decades, but with the war ongoing, nations in the Eurozone are preparing for a possible shutoff of gas supplies this coming winter. Transporting U.S.-produced LNG to Europe won't be able to fill the gap, but every little bit will help, and Cheniere's terminals are what make such transport possible.
Longer term, high demand has given Cheniere all the business it can handle for decades into the future. Even though the process of constructing LNG terminals is slow and drawn out, investors are nevertheless excited that Cheniere has so far managed to navigate logistical difficulties and is reaping the rewards of its forward-looking business strategy.
BJ's has a good quarter
Shares of BJ's Wholesale Club climbed more than 7%. The warehouse retailer revealed strong second-quarter results that sustained the momentum that BJ's has built up recently.
BJ's fundamentals were solid. Revenue jumped 22% year over year to more than $5 billion. Even taking away the impact of higher gasoline prices, comparable club sales were up 7.6% from year-ago levels. Membership fee income for the warehouse retailer climbed more than 11%. That helped support substantial bottom-line growth, with adjusted earnings of $1.06 per share representing a rise of 29% from the second quarter of 2021.
NYSE: BJ
Key Data Points
BJ's is enjoying gains in traffic levels that are helping to bolster its market share in the geographic areas in which it does business. Moreover, BJ's is supporting expansion plans to extend the size of its network, with plans to open 11 new clubs during the current fiscal year. That should help boost comparable sales figures by 4% to 5% in fiscal 2022, and the company increased its earnings projections to a new range of $3.50 to $3.60 per share.
Even as inflation crimps consumers' wallets, BJ's offers value that encourages shoppers to come back for more. The stock has quadrupled since early 2020, and more upside could come if the retailer keeps generating excitement for its customers.
