Analysts Set Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) PT at $195.00

Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $198.13.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on LNG. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $201.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Cheniere Energy in a report on Monday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $199.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Cheniere Energy from $208.00 to $204.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

NYSE LNG opened at $182.58 on Monday. Cheniere Energy has a 1 year low of $152.31 and a 1 year high of $193.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.89 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $183.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $171.08.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The energy company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.04 billion. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 27.05% and a return on equity of 39.42%. As a group, research analysts expect that Cheniere Energy will post 9.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 7th were issued a $0.775 dividend. This is a boost from Cheniere Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $3.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 7th. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.48%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 156.3% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 305 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 49.3% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 3,299 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $563,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089 shares during the period. Syon Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 1,618 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Cheniere Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Cheniere Energy by 37.4% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 615,067 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $30,624,000 after buying an additional 167,567 shares during the period. 87.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.