Citigroup Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) Stock Price

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) had its target price dropped by research analysts at Citigroup from $283.00 to $280.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the energy company’s stock. Citigroup’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 44.68% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on LNG. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $284.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group set a $290.00 price target on Cheniere Energy in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $274.00 to $271.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $278.00 price objective (up from $275.00) on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Friday, October 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $268.06.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

NYSE LNG traded down $0.65 on Monday, hitting $193.53. 1,477,855 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,906,604. The company has a market capitalization of $41.65 billion, a PE ratio of 10.78, a P/E/G ratio of 6.24 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The business’s fifty day moving average is $201.04 and its 200 day moving average is $221.53. Cheniere Energy has a 52 week low of $186.20 and a 52 week high of $257.65.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The energy company reported $4.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $2.00. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 21.12%.The company had revenue of $4.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.93 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Cheniere Energy will post 11.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Cheniere Energy

In related news, Director W Benjamin Moreland purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $208.22 per share, with a total value of $1,041,100.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 9,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,052,216.32. This represents a 102.97% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 718.1% in the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,669 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $406,000 after buying an additional 1,465 shares during the period. Morningstar Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Cheniere Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,723,000. Railway Pension Investments Ltd lifted its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 62.9% during the third quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd now owns 777,200 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $182,626,000 after acquiring an additional 300,100 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 3.3% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 39,440 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $9,604,000 after acquiring an additional 1,273 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 3.9% in the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 109,285 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $26,360,000 after purchasing an additional 4,083 shares in the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.