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

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

LNG has been the subject of several other research reports. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $296.00 to $322.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $279.00 to $338.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Cheniere Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $236.00 to $313.00 in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cheniere Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $291.88.

Cheniere Energy Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of NYSE:LNG traded up $5.41 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $289.46. The stock had a trading volume of 846,334 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,779,627. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company has a market cap of $60.84 billion, a PE ratio of 11.92 and a beta of 0.14. Cheniere Energy has a 12-month low of $186.20 and a 12-month high of $300.89. The company’s 50 day moving average is $244.36 and its 200-day moving average is $222.10.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The energy company reported $10.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.90 by $6.78. The business had revenue of $5.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.48 billion. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 26.68% and a return on equity of 32.04%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.33 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Cheniere Energy will post 11.69 EPS for the current year.

Cheniere Energy declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the energy company to buy up to 21.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Cheniere Energy

In other Cheniere Energy news, EVP Sean N. Markowitz sold 22,246 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Zach Davis sold 29,000 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 87,146 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,143,800. This represents a 24.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Strive Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 250.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 140 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.