Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) Receives Average Recommendation of “Buy” from Analysts

Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) has earned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the twenty brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $298.6250.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on LNG. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Cheniere Energy from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $280.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $259.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $276.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th.

Insider Transactions at Cheniere Energy

In related news, CFO Zach Davis sold 29,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $8,700,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 87,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,143,800. This trade represents a 24.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sean N. Markowitz sold 22,246 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.98, for a total transaction of $6,473,141.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 64,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,622,720. This represents a 25.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheniere Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LNG. Strive Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Accordant Advisory Group Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

Shares of LNG stock opened at $238.81 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $256.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $230.19. 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 stock has a market cap of $50.04 billion and a P/E ratio of 39.28. Cheniere Energy has a one year low of $186.20 and a one year high of $300.89.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last posted its earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $5.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.69 billion. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 38.95% and a net margin of 7.23%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.57 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Cheniere Energy will post 14.75 EPS for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a dividend of $0.555 per share. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.51%.

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

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.