TD Cowen Increases Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) Price Target to $270.00

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) had its target price boosted by stock analysts at TD Cowen from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research note issued on Monday. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the energy company’s stock. TD Cowen’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 12.54% from the company’s previous close.

LNG has been the subject of several other research reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on Cheniere Energy from $305.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Cheniere Energy from $313.00 to $308.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays lifted their price target on Cheniere Energy from $259.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Cheniere Energy from $280.00 to $271.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Cheniere Energy from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $296.50.

Cheniere Energy Price Performance

NYSE:LNG opened at $239.92 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.46 and a beta of 0.07. Cheniere Energy has a 52-week low of $186.20 and a 52-week high of $300.89. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $263.74 and a 200 day moving average of $226.73. 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) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. 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 net margin of 7.23% and a return on equity of 36.34%. The business had revenue of $5.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.57 EPS. Cheniere Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Cheniere Energy will post 13.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 26th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the energy company to reacquire up to 21.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Cheniere Energy

In related news, CFO Zach Davis sold 29,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 87,146 shares in the company, valued at $26,143,800. The trade was a 24.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Sean N. Markowitz sold 22,246 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 64,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,622,720. This represents a 25.79% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LNG. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $731,774,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 174.3% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,244,268 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $636,834,000 after acquiring an additional 1,426,058 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 555.0% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 810,138 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $157,483,000 after purchasing an additional 686,459 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy during the third quarter valued at $142,688,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 518.8% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 577,533 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $112,267,000 after buying an additional 484,198 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.