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

Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $305.6471.

LNG has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $327.00 to $334.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Argus set a $330.00 price target on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Benchmark reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $310.00 price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Cheniere Energy from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st.

Cheniere Energy Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Cheniere Energy stock opened at $268.08 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $271.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $259.40. Cheniere Energy has a 12-month low of $186.20 and a 12-month high of $300.89. The company has a market capitalization of $55.37 billion and a P/E ratio of 19.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The energy company reported $3.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $5.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.92 billion. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 13.57% and a return on equity of 29.80%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $7.30 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cheniere Energy will post 16.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 18th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th were issued a $0.555 dividend. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is 16.53%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Cheniere Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $731,774,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 174.3% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,244,268 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $636,834,000 after purchasing an additional 1,426,058 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 210.1% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,444,403 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $584,237,000 after purchasing an additional 1,656,194 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 12.6% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,135,088 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $510,307,000 after purchasing an additional 239,680 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,279,078 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $443,031,000 after buying an additional 253,469 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

About Cheniere Energy

Cheniere Energy, Inc is a Houston-based energy company focused on the production, liquefaction, transportation and export of liquefied natural gas (LNG). The company purchases natural gas and processes it at its liquefaction facilities before shipping LNG to customers in international markets. Cheniere also provides natural gas pipeline, storage and other services that support its LNG operations.

Cheniere operates the Sabine Pass LNG facility in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, and the Corpus Christi LNG facility in South Texas.