TotalEnergies: shares rise after Bernstein upgrades stock

(CercleFinance.com) - Shares of TotalEnergies rose almost two per cent on Wednesday after Bernstein said it was upgrading the stock to "outperform" from "market-perform" with a new price target of 70 euros.


Having now reassessed the French oil major's LNG portfolio, the brokerage firm's initial concerns around growth constraints - amid a tight market - linked to Russia have been eased.

Due to management's problem-solving ability, Bernstein now forecasts 6% CAGR LNG volume growth even if Russian volumes are lost. That's versus 8% with Russia.

In a note to clients, the broker also underscores that Total offers investors exposure to a unique combination of old and new business earnings growth drivers.

Amid current volatility and recession risk, TotalEnergies boasts one of the strongest balance sheets and the most resilient through-cycle dividend payout as well, it says.

After underperforming peers year-to-date, TotalEnergies now sits at decade lows on valuation with 12-month PCF multiples of 3.7x today, Bernstein further noted.

Shares of TotalEnergies rose 1.6 per cent in midday trading, while Paris' CAC 40 was down 1.3 per cent.

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