Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. UBS Group set a $290.00 target price on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Bank of America raised their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $296.00 to $322.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Benchmark reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Cheniere Energy from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cheniere Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $298.63.

Cheniere Energy Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of LNG stock opened at $239.78 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $251.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $231.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.25 billion and a PE ratio of 39.44. Cheniere Energy has a fifty-two week low of $186.20 and a fifty-two week high of $300.89.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The energy company reported ($16.65) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.25 by ($20.90). The firm had revenue of $5.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.69 billion. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 7.23% and a return on equity of 38.95%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.57 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Cheniere Energy will post 14.93 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 64,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,622,720. The trade was a 25.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 $26,143,800. This represents a 24.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cheniere Energy

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

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.