Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) Given New $308.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley cut its price target on Cheniere from $313 to $308 but kept an "overweight" rating, implying about a 21.33% upside from the recent close.
• Wall Street remains mostly bullish—Cheniere has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $292.71 after multiple firms (Goldman, BofA, RBC, BMO) raised targets.
• Fundamentals and capital actions are supportive: Cheniere reported an EPS beat ($10.68 vs. $3.90 est.), authorized a $10 billion stock buyback (~21.1% of shares), and shares traded around $253.85 (market cap ~$53.3B).

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG - Get Free Report) had its price objective dropped by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $313.00 to $308.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the energy company's stock. Morgan Stanley's price target would indicate a potential upside of 21.33% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on LNG. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $276.00 to $312.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $286.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $265.00 to $306.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $296.00 to $322.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Cheniere Energy from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cheniere Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $292.71.

Cheniere Energy Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of LNG traded up $1.50 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $253.85. 358,658 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,781,370. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $254.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $224.14. Cheniere Energy has a twelve month low of $186.20 and a twelve month high of $300.89. The stock has a market cap of $53.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.41 and a beta of 0.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

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

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Cheniere Energy

In other Cheniere Energy 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 87,146 shares in the company, valued at $26,143,800. This trade represents a 24.97% decrease in their position. The transaction 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 firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.98, for a total transaction of $6,473,141.08. Following the transaction, 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cheniere Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LNG. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Strive Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Accordant Advisory Group Inc bought a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. 87.26% of the stock is owned by 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.

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