Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) Price Target Raised to $208.00

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) had its price objective hoisted by Stifel Nicolaus from $204.00 to $208.00 in a research note published on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the energy company’s stock.

LNG has been the topic of a number of other reports. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $185.00 to $178.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. StockNews.com cut Cheniere Energy from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Cheniere Energy in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. They set a neutral rating and a $162.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $223.00 to $206.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $192.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $196.40.

Cheniere Energy Price Performance

LNG stock opened at $157.21 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $157.93. The stock has a market cap of $36.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.66 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.59, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.51. Cheniere Energy has a 12 month low of $135.30 and a 12 month high of $183.46.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The energy company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.17). The firm had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.97 billion. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 48.95% and a net margin of 28.55%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 41.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.89 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Cheniere Energy will post 8.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.435 per share. This represents a $1.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.48%.

Institutional Trading of Cheniere Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LNG. Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new position in Cheniere Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $1,283,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in Cheniere Energy by 28.9% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 198,555 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $33,895,000 after acquiring an additional 44,508 shares during the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new position in Cheniere Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $1,144,000. Rheos Capital Works Inc. acquired a new position in Cheniere Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $8,894,000. Finally, Riverstone Advisors LLC raised its position in Cheniere Energy by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Riverstone Advisors LLC now owns 14,882 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $2,540,000 after acquiring an additional 513 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy Company Profile

Cheniere Energy, Inc, an energy infrastructure company, primarily engages in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) related businesses in the United States. It owns and operates the Sabine Pass LNG terminal in Cameron Parish, Louisiana; and the Corpus Christi LNG terminal near Corpus Christi, Texas. The company also owns Creole Trail pipeline, a 94-mile natural gas supply pipeline that interconnects the Sabine Pass LNG Terminal with several interstate and intrastate pipelines; and operates Corpus Christi pipeline, a 21.5-mile natural gas supply pipeline that interconnects the Corpus Christi LNG terminal with various interstate and intrastate natural gas pipelines.