Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) Price Target Raised to $258.00 at Bank of America

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) had its target price upped by Bank of America from $254.00 to $258.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the energy company’s stock.

LNG has been the subject of a number of other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Cheniere Energy from $252.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Argus assumed coverage on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $255.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cheniere Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $277.00 price target on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $255.00 to $247.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $251.46.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

NYSE LNG opened at $237.91 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $222.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $217.17. Cheniere Energy has a 52-week low of $153.03 and a 52-week high of $257.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.72 and a beta of 0.67.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The energy company reported $4.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by $1.59. The business had revenue of $4.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 37.19% and a net margin of 20.71%. Equities research analysts forecast that Cheniere Energy will post 11.69 EPS for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is presently 14.05%.

Insider Activity at Cheniere Energy

In other Cheniere Energy news, Director G Andrea Botta sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.51, for a total transaction of $1,975,590.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 33,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,448,852.34. This represents a 20.96 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheniere Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LNG. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 5.6% in the first quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 14,883 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $3,444,000 after acquiring an additional 789 shares during the last quarter. Cooksen Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 15,033 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $3,479,000 after buying an additional 471 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 9.9% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 379,097 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $87,723,000 after buying an additional 34,003 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Argentarii LLC lifted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 5.5% in the first quarter. Argentarii LLC now owns 1,286 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $298,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. 87.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.