Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) Receives $268.47 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $267.5333.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. 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. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $278.00 price target (up from $275.00) on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Friday, October 24th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $268.00 to $273.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Cheniere Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Cheniere Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th.

Cheniere Energy Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of Cheniere Energy stock opened at $189.69 on Friday. Cheniere Energy has a 1-year low of $186.20 and a 1-year high of $257.65. The company has a market capitalization of $40.83 billion, a PE ratio of 10.57, a P/E/G ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The business has a 50-day moving average of $208.94 and a 200-day moving average of $226.24.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The energy company reported $4.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $2.00. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 21.12%.The business had revenue of $4.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.93 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Cheniere Energy will post 11.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th were paid a dividend of $0.555 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 7th. This is an increase from Cheniere Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is currently 12.37%.

Insider Activity at Cheniere Energy

In other news, Director W Benjamin Moreland purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $208.22 per share, for a total transaction of $1,041,100.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 9,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,052,216.32. The trade was a 102.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cheniere Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LNG. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Cheniere Energy by 27.6% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,304,253 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $301,804,000 after purchasing an additional 282,050 shares during the last quarter. Thompson Davis & CO. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy in the first quarter valued at about $529,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 718.1% in the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,669 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $406,000 after buying an additional 1,465 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Cheniere Energy by 3.3% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 39,440 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $9,604,000 after buying an additional 1,273 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Cheniere Energy by 3.9% during the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 109,285 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $26,360,000 after acquiring an additional 4,083 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

About Cheniere Energy

Cheniere Energy, Inc is a U.S.-based energy company that develops, owns and operates liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure and markets LNG to global customers. The company’s core activities include natural gas liquefaction, long‑term and short‑term LNG sales and marketing, and the associated midstream services required to move gas from production basins to international markets. Cheniere focuses on converting domestic natural gas into LNG for export, providing a bridge between North American supply and overseas demand.

Cheniere’s principal operating assets are large-scale LNG export terminals located on the U.S.