Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) Given New $257.00 Price Target at Scotiabank

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) had its price objective lowered by Scotiabank from $261.00 to $257.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Scotiabank currently has a sector outperform rating on the energy company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on LNG. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $278.00 price objective (up previously from $275.00) on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $268.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Cheniere Energy from $267.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $275.00 target price on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $268.47.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

Shares of LNG traded up $1.90 on Thursday, reaching $215.20. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,820,075 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,997,739. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $225.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $231.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Cheniere Energy has a 12-month low of $188.70 and a 12-month high of $257.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.56, a PEG ratio of 6.08 and a beta of 0.36.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The energy company reported $4.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.75 by $2.00. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 21.05% and a return on equity of 37.83%. The firm had revenue of $4.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.93 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Cheniere Energy will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 18th. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.555 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 7th. This is a positive change from Cheniere Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cheniere Energy

In related news, Director W Benjamin Moreland acquired 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $208.22 per share, for a total transaction of $1,041,100.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 9,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,052,216.32. This trade represents a 102.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheniere Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LNG. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 134.1% in the second quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 103 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 473.7% in the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 109 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Cheniere Energy in the second quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

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.