Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $218.17 and last traded at $218.10, with a volume of 1127959 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $214.75.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on LNG. Bank of America started coverage on Cheniere Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $215.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Cheniere Energy from $208.00 to $204.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Cheniere Energy from $192.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Cheniere Energy from $201.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Cheniere Energy from $199.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $208.44.

Cheniere Energy Trading Up 1.9 %

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $190.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $177.81. 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 cap of $50.44 billion, a PE ratio of 14.35 and a beta of 0.94.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $3.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $2.06. The business had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 41.44% and a net margin of 22.70%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.37 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.26 EPS for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 18th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.77%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cheniere Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 3.2% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,438,428 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $978,047,000 after buying an additional 167,575 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,270,853 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $921,503,000 after purchasing an additional 413,744 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 195.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,200,456 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $755,410,000 after purchasing an additional 2,776,920 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 91.4% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,747,370 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $673,927,000 after purchasing an additional 1,789,919 shares during the period. Finally, Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. raised its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 9.2% during the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 3,242,899 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $566,956,000 after purchasing an additional 273,588 shares during the period. 87.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cheniere Energy Company Profile

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.