Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) Receives $296.50 Average PT from Brokerages

Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) has received an average rating of “Buy” from the nineteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $293.50.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on LNG shares. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Cheniere Energy from $265.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. TD Cowen increased their price target on Cheniere Energy from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Cheniere Energy from $286.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Cheniere Energy from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th.

Cheniere Energy Trading Up 2.6%

NYSE:LNG opened at $248.06 on Tuesday. Cheniere Energy has a 1 year low of $186.20 and a 1 year high of $300.89. The stock has a market cap of $51.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.80 and a beta of 0.07. The business has a fifty day moving average of $264.00 and a 200-day moving average of $227.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.57.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The energy company reported ($16.65) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.57 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Cheniere Energy will post 15.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheniere Energy declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 26th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the energy company to reacquire up to 21.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.51%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Zach Davis sold 29,000 shares of the company’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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 87,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,143,800. This represents a 24.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Sean N. Markowitz sold 22,246 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.98, for a total value of $6,473,141.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 64,000 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheniere Energy

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Viking Fund Management LLC lifted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 66.7% in the 4th quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC now owns 45,000 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $8,748,000 after acquiring an additional 18,000 shares in the last quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 38.8% in the 4th quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC now owns 56,930 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $11,067,000 after acquiring an additional 15,927 shares in the last quarter. M&G PLC lifted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 49.6% in the 3rd quarter. M&G PLC now owns 556,285 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $130,727,000 after acquiring an additional 184,520 shares in the last quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd lifted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 35.3% in the 3rd quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 196,819 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $46,244,000 after acquiring an additional 51,326 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,460,762 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $343,250,000 after acquiring an additional 163,861 shares in the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is 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.