Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $231.64.

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $213.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $202.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $201.00 to $217.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $234.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $204.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th.

Cheniere Energy Price Performance

LNG opened at $231.73 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $222.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $197.77. The firm has a market cap of $51.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.80 and a beta of 0.99. Cheniere Energy has a twelve month low of $152.31 and a twelve month high of $257.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last posted 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. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 22.70% and a return on equity of 41.44%. The firm had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.37 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Cheniere Energy will post 12.67 EPS for the current fiscal 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 $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.77%.

Institutional Trading of Cheniere Energy

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of LNG. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in Cheniere Energy by 170.5% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 119 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC acquired a new position in Cheniere Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Cheniere Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Cheniere Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Adirondack Trust Co. acquired a new position in Cheniere Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

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.