Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) Issues Earnings Results

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) released its earnings results on Thursday. The energy company reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by $1.59, Zacks reports. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 22.70% and a return on equity of 41.44%.

Cheniere Energy Price Performance

Shares of LNG stock traded up $5.59 on Thursday, reaching $224.40. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,598,804 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,355,986. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $222.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $203.10. Cheniere Energy has a 1 year low of $152.31 and a 1 year high of $257.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. The company has a market capitalization of $50.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.36 and a beta of 0.98.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LNG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $202.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. 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 report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $213.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $195.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $204.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $234.25.

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.