Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, sixteen have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $298.6250.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Cheniere Energy from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Barclays lifted their target price on Cheniere Energy from $259.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Cheniere Energy from $313.00 to $308.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Cheniere Energy from $296.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cheniere Energy news, CFO Zach Davis sold 29,000 shares of Cheniere Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $8,700,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 87,146 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,143,800. The trade was a 24.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sean N. Markowitz sold 22,246 shares of Cheniere Energy stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 64,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 Investors Weigh In On Cheniere Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Militia Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Cheniere Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $3,405,000. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. grew its stake in Cheniere Energy by 1.8% in the first quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 11,816 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $3,353,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC acquired a new stake in Cheniere Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in Cheniere Energy by 1.6% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 7,549 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $2,142,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. grew its stake in Cheniere Energy by 54.5% in the first quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 136 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy Price Performance

Shares of LNG opened at $240.85 on Friday. Cheniere Energy has a 1 year low of $186.20 and a 1 year high of $300.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The company has a market capitalization of $50.47 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.61. The business has a 50-day moving average of $251.29 and a 200-day moving average of $231.21.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The energy company reported ($16.65) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.25 by ($20.90). Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 38.95% and a net margin of 7.23%.The company had revenue of $5.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.57 earnings per share. Cheniere Energy’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Cheniere Energy will post 14.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $0.555 dividend. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is presently 36.51%.

Cheniere Energy announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, February 26th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the energy company to repurchase up to 21.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Cheniere Energy Company Profile

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.