JPMorgan Chase & Co. Lowers Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) Price Target to $325.00

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) had its target price lowered by equities research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $338.00 to $325.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the energy company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target suggests a potential upside of 26.52% from the company’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley raised Cheniere Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $236.00 to $313.00 in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Wolfe Research set a $220.00 target price on Cheniere Energy and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Weiss Ratings raised Cheniere Energy from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Barclays boosted their target price on Cheniere Energy from $259.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Cheniere Energy from $280.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. One 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $292.82.

Cheniere Energy Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of LNG stock opened at $256.88 on Tuesday. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $252.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $223.75. Cheniere Energy has a 12-month low of $186.20 and a 12-month high of $300.89. The firm has a market cap of $53.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.57 and a beta of 0.14.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The energy company reported $10.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.90 by $6.78. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 32.04% and a net margin of 26.68%.The firm had revenue of $5.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.48 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.33 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Cheniere Energy will post 11.69 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. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LNG. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in Cheniere Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $335,000. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 13.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 8,825 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $2,149,000 after acquiring an additional 1,035 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 23.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 183,153 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $44,600,000 after acquiring an additional 34,422 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 103,040 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $25,092,000 after acquiring an additional 805 shares during the period. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 87.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 36,502 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $8,889,000 after acquiring an additional 16,977 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

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.