Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Sanford C. Bernstein

Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

LNG has been the topic of several other reports. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $276.00 to $312.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Barclays lifted their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $259.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Cheniere Energy from $265.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $297.71.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

Cheniere Energy stock opened at $231.67 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $248.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $231.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market cap of $48.55 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.10. Cheniere Energy has a fifty-two week low of $186.20 and a fifty-two week high of $300.89.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The energy company reported ($16.65) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.25 by ($20.90). The firm had revenue of $5.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.69 billion. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 7.23% and a return on equity of 38.95%. The business’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.57 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Cheniere Energy will post 14.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase 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 purchase up to 21.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a $0.555 dividend. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is currently 36.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Zach Davis sold 29,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $8,700,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 87,146 shares of the company’s stock, 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 SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sean N. Markowitz sold 22,246 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.98, for a total value of $6,473,141.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 64,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,622,720. This represents a 25.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cheniere Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LNG. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Cheniere Energy in 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 raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 686,459 shares during the last quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp raised its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 6,513.7% in the 1st quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 564,742 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $160,251,000 after acquiring an additional 556,203 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 518.8% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 577,533 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $112,267,000 after acquiring an additional 484,198 shares during the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.