Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eleven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $232.36.

LNG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $201.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $204.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $215.00 target price on the stock. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $242.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $242.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday.

Institutional Trading of Cheniere Energy

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,438,428 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $978,047,000 after purchasing an additional 167,575 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 195.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,200,456 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $755,410,000 after purchasing an additional 2,776,920 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 91.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,747,370 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $673,927,000 after acquiring an additional 1,789,919 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,793,989 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $322,631,000 after acquiring an additional 178,318 shares during the period. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 61.2% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,664,439 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $357,638,000 after acquiring an additional 631,787 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

Shares of LNG stock opened at $226.43 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $222.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $198.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.07. Cheniere Energy has a one year low of $152.31 and a one year high of $257.65. The firm has a market cap of $50.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.46 and a beta of 0.99.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $3.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $2.06. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 22.70% and a return on equity of 41.44%. The firm had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.37 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Cheniere Energy will post 12.67 EPS for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.77%.

About Cheniere Energy

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.