- Marzo 9, 2023
- Posted by: Oliver
- Categoria: Economics, Finance & accounting
The last energy stock we’ll look at is Cheniere Energy. As implied by its ticker, Cheniere Energy is a liquefied natural gas (LNG) player, and in fact, in 2016, Cheniere was the first U.S. company to export liquefied natural gas.
Today, the Houston, Texas-based firm is the U.S.’s largest producer of LNG and the second biggest LNG operator in the world. The company’s LNG facilities are in Southwest Louisiana and South Texas, and Cheniere prides itself on servicing dozens of markets across five continents, believing that as countries across the globe look for cleaner ways to power their economies, the demand for its fuel will only increase.
That was quite evident in the company’s most recent quarterly statement – for 4Q22. Revenue grew by 38.6% year-over-year to $9.09 billion, beating the Street’s call by $1.05 billion. The company delivered consolidated adjusted EBITDA of roughly $3.1 billion, compared to 1.34 billion in the same period a year ago. For 2023, the company expects consolidated adjusted EBITDA in the range between $8.0 billion and $8.5 billion.
For J.P. Morgan analyst Jeremy Tonet, the print “delivered on multiple fronts,” including better-than-expected 2023 EBITDA guidance, and bettering Q4 EBITDA estimates. Additionally, Tonet said, “Unlike most others in our coverage, Cheniere demonstrated a strong commitment to share buy-backs, with over >$700mm executed in 4Q and plenty of room left on the $6bn program. At the same time, Cheniere redeemed $5.4bn of debt in 2022, highlighting robust financial flexibility.”
Summing up, Tonet further said, “We continue to see value in the company’s top-tier, long-term take-or-pay contract portfolio, leverage to incremental LNG demand (and capturing market share as other sources decline), and unrivaled execution.”
These bullish comments underpin Tonet’s Overweight (i.e., Buy) rating on LNG, while his $209 price target implies share appreciation of ~28% over the one-year timeframe.
Amongst Tonet’s colleagues, there’s total agreement with that assessment; the stock’s Strong Buy consensus rating is based on a unanimous 13 Buys. The analysts see shares delivering returns of ~20% over the coming year, given the average target currently stands at $195.62. As a small bonus, the company pays regular dividends that currently yield 1% annually.
