Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) Given New $330.00 Price Target at Jefferies Financial Group

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) had its price target upped by analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $275.00 to $330.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the energy company’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 14.01% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also commented on LNG. Wolfe Research set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $280.00 to $271.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $266.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $280.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $291.88.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

NYSE LNG traded up $5.41 on Tuesday, hitting $289.46. The stock had a trading volume of 846,334 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,779,627. Cheniere Energy has a one year low of $186.20 and a one year high of $300.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The stock has a market cap of $60.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.92 and a beta of 0.14. The company’s 50-day moving average is $244.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $222.10.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last posted its 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 firm had revenue of $5.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.48 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.33 EPS. Cheniere Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 22.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Cheniere Energy will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheniere Energy announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 26th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the energy company to purchase up to 21.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Cheniere Energy

In related news, CFO Zach Davis sold 29,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 87,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,143,800. This represents a 24.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Sean N. Markowitz sold 22,246 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.98, for a total transaction of $6,473,141.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 64,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,622,720. This represents a 25.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cheniere Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LNG. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in Cheniere Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $335,000. CW Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 41.9% in the 2nd quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 2,949 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $714,000 after acquiring an additional 871 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 51.3% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,495 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $364,000 after acquiring an additional 507 shares in the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 10,636 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $2,590,000 after acquiring an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 110,007 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $26,789,000 after acquiring an additional 5,627 shares in the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.