Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) Hits New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Shares hit a new 52-week high after JPMorgan raised its price target to $338 and kept an overweight rating, with the stock trading as high as $300.89.
• Cheniere posted a sizable earnings beat — $10.68 EPS vs. $3.90 estimate — with revenue up 22.9% year-over-year and analysts forecasting roughly 11.69 EPS for the year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.555 per share and its Board authorized a $10 billion share buyback (up to 21.1% of shares), indicating management confidence in the stock.

Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $279.00 to $338.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Cheniere Energy traded as high as $300.89 and last traded at $297.77, with a volume of 654081 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $296.91.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Thursday, February 26th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $282.00 to $271.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $259.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $266.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cheniere Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $282.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheniere Energy

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in Cheniere Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $335,000. Choreo LLC raised its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 6.3% in the second quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 5,465 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $1,331,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $386,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $67,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in Cheniere Energy by 21.6% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 60,774 shares of the energy company's stock worth $14,800,000 after acquiring an additional 10,797 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.26% of the company's stock.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $235.12 and a 200 day moving average of $220.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.21 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.94.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The energy company reported $10.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.90 by $6.78. The firm had revenue of $5.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.48 billion. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 32.04% and a net margin of 26.68%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.33 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th were given a dividend of $0.555 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Cheniere Energy's dividend payout ratio is 9.14%.

Cheniere Energy declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, February 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the energy company to repurchase up to 21.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.