Wall Street Zen Downgrades Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) to Sell

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

LNG has been the subject of several other reports. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $259.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $297.71.

Cheniere Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LNG opened at $241.71 on Friday. Cheniere Energy has a twelve month low of $186.20 and a twelve month high of $300.89. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $243.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $232.99. The company has a market capitalization of $50.65 billion and a PE ratio of 39.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The energy company reported ($16.65) 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 business 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 posted $1.57 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Cheniere Energy will post 14.93 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Zach Davis sold 29,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 87,146 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,143,800. This represents a 24.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. First Horizon Corp grew its stake in Cheniere Energy by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 517 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $147,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 2.9% in the first quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 1,497 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $425,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky lifted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 6.8% in the first quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 725 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $206,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 7.3% in the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 688 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $162,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. boosted its holdings in shares of 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. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.