Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) Receives Consensus Rating of "Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Cheniere Energy has a consensus analyst rating of “Buy”, with 16 buy ratings and 2 strong buys among 20 analysts. The average 12-month price target is about $298.63.
• The company’s latest quarter showed a large earnings miss, reporting EPS of -$16.65 versus the expected $4.25, even though revenue of $5.87 billion topped estimates and rose 7.8% year over year.
• Cheniere recently authorized a $10 billion stock buyback and paid a quarterly dividend of $0.555 per share, equal to an annualized yield of about 0.9%.

Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Buy" from the twenty ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $298.6250.

Several research analysts recently commented on LNG shares. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $280.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $276.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Benchmark restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $265.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday.

Cheniere Energy Stock Down 0.9%

Cheniere Energy stock opened at $238.81 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.04 billion and a PE ratio of 39.28. Cheniere Energy has a twelve month low of $186.20 and a twelve month high of $300.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55. The company has a 50 day moving average of $256.13 and a 200-day moving average of $230.19.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The energy company reported ($16.65) 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.57 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Cheniere Energy will post 14.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 26th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the energy company to reacquire up to 21.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a dividend of $0.555 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Cheniere Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cheniere Energy

In other Cheniere Energy news, EVP Sean N. Markowitz sold 22,246 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 64,000 shares in the company, valued at $18,622,720. This trade represents a 25.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Zach Davis sold 29,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 87,146 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,143,800. This represents a 24.97% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Cheniere Energy

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,219,557 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $4,124,870,000 after acquiring an additional 414,022 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,174,695 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $1,200,299,000 after acquiring an additional 167,622 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Cheniere Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $731,774,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,279,078 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $443,031,000 after acquiring an additional 253,469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,263,826 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $440,047,000 after acquiring an additional 134,695 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.26% of the company's stock.

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.

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