Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) Receives $293.00 Average Target Price from Analysts

Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the nineteen research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $295.5625.

LNG has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price 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 target on Cheniere Energy and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Cheniere Energy from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $338.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Barclays boosted 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.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cheniere Energy

In other news, CFO Zach Davis sold 29,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $8,700,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 87,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,143,800. This trade represents a 24.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Sean N. Markowitz sold 22,246 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.98, for a total transaction of $6,473,141.08. Following the completion of 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy in the first quarter worth about $228,000. Wesbanco Bank Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 135.4% during the 1st quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 4,103 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,164,000 after buying an additional 2,360 shares during the period. J2 Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. J2 Capital Management Inc now owns 2,854 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $810,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the period. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated acquired a new position in Cheniere Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $634,000. Finally, Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its position in Cheniere Energy by 11.5% during the 1st quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 9,723 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $2,759,000 after acquiring an additional 1,001 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

Shares of LNG stock opened at $258.33 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.63 and a beta of 0.14. Cheniere Energy has a one year low of $186.20 and a one year high of $300.89. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $255.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $224.32.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The energy company reported $10.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.90 by $6.78. The company had revenue of $5.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.48 billion. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 26.68% and a return on equity of 32.04%. Cheniere Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.33 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Cheniere Energy will post 14.16 EPS for the current year.

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

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th were given a dividend of $0.555 per share. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is 9.14%.

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.