Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) Sets New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $259.00 to $271.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Cheniere Energy traded as high as $252.50 and last traded at $250.4230, with a volume of 1110549 shares. The stock had previously closed at $235.73.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $282.00 to $271.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Cheniere Energy from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $254.00 price target on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $266.00 target price on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Cheniere Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Cheniere Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $262.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheniere Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LNG. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Cheniere Energy by 473.7% in the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 109 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Cheniere Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Strive Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Cheniere Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. 87.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cheniere Energy Trading Up 6.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.29 and a beta of 0.25. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $207.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $216.24.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The energy company reported $10.68 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $5.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.48 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.33 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 22.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 EPS for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th were issued a dividend of $0.555 per share. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 9.14%.

Cheniere Energy declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback 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 buy up to 21.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are 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.