Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) Price Target Raised to $270.00

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) had its price target boosted by TD Cowen from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a buy rating on the energy company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on LNG. Weiss Ratings upgraded Cheniere Energy from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $286.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Wolfe Research set a $220.00 price objective on Cheniere Energy and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $285.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $313.00 to $308.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $293.50.

Cheniere Energy Price Performance

NYSE:LNG opened at $239.45 on Monday. Cheniere Energy has a 52 week low of $186.20 and a 52 week high of $300.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55. The company has a market capitalization of $50.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.38 and a beta of 0.07. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $264.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $227.25.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The energy company reported ($16.65) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.25 by ($20.90). Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 7.23% and a return on equity of 38.95%. The business had revenue of $5.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.57 EPS. Cheniere Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Cheniere Energy will post 15.29 EPS for the current year.

Cheniere Energy declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the energy company to repurchase up to 21.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.555 per share. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is presently 36.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cheniere Energy

In related news, CFO Zach Davis sold 29,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $8,700,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 87,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,143,800. The trade was a 24.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sean N. Markowitz sold 22,246 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.98, for a total value of $6,473,141.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 64,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,622,720. The trade was a 25.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LNG. Strive Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Accordant Advisory Group Inc acquired a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. 87.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Cheniere Energy

Cheniere Energy, Inc is a U.S.-based energy company that develops, owns and operates liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure and markets LNG to global customers. The company’s core activities include natural gas liquefaction, long‑term and short‑term LNG sales and marketing, and the associated midstream services required to move gas from production basins to international markets. Cheniere focuses on converting domestic natural gas into LNG for export, providing a bridge between North American supply and overseas demand.

Cheniere’s principal operating assets are large-scale LNG export terminals located on the U.S.