Scotiabank Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) Stock

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) had its price target lifted by equities researchers at Scotiabank from $266.00 to $285.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “sector outperform” rating on the energy company’s stock. Scotiabank’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 11.87% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on LNG. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $259.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $283.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $274.00 to $271.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $282.00 to $271.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $264.89.

Cheniere Energy Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of LNG stock opened at $254.77 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $53.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.48 and a beta of 0.25. Cheniere Energy has a 1 year low of $186.20 and a 1 year high of $259.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $213.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $217.09.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The energy company reported $10.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.90 by $6.78. The firm had revenue of $5.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.48 billion. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 32.04% and a net margin of 26.68%.The company’s revenue was up 22.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.33 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Cheniere Energy will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 26th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the energy company to purchase up to 21.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cheniere Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LNG. Altman Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 0.4% in the second quarter. Altman Advisors Inc. now owns 10,206 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $2,409,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 3,268 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $768,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Childress Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,385 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,265,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 688 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $162,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Howard Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 3.3% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,488 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $350,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

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.