12:10 AM EDT, 04/29/2024 (MT Newswires) -- CFRA, an independent research provider, has provided MT Newswires with the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:

We retain our 12-month target price for TotalEnergies (TTE) of $80, reflecting 1.6x P/NAV, a premium to peer average of 1.4x, justified in our view by TTE's higher ROE. We keep our EPS forecasts of $9.50 for 2024 and $9.55 for 2025. Q1 2024 adjusted net income of $5.1 billion (-22% Y/Y; -2% Q/Q) was in line with consensus estimates with higher oil prices and resilient refining margin mitigating the impact of softer gas prices. However, operating cash flow fell 58% Y/Y to $2.2 billion due to a working capital build amounting to $6.1 billion, which lifted TTE's net gearing to 10% in Q1 2024 versus 5% in Q4 2023. TTE reiterated its commitment to a >40% CFFO distribution model and declared a DPS of $0.79 (+7% Y/Y) alongside share buyback of $2 billion. For Q2 2024, TTE expects i) hydrocarbon production of 2.40-2.45mboe/d (Q1 2024: 2.46mboe/d), ii) LNG selling price of USD9-10/mbtu (Q1 2024: USD9.6/mbtu), and iii) utilization rate of refineries at >85% (Q1 2024: 79%).