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

Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $225.00.

A number of research analysts have commented on LNG shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Bank of America initiated coverage on Cheniere Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $215.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Cheniere Energy from $234.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Cheniere Energy from $204.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Cheniere Energy from $232.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th.

Cheniere Energy Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of Cheniere Energy stock opened at $210.48 on Friday. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $207.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $188.60. The stock has a market cap of $47.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.44 and a beta of 0.97. Cheniere Energy has a 12-month low of $152.31 and a 12-month high of $228.10.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $3.93 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.76 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.37 earnings per share. Cheniere Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Cheniere Energy will post 11.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is currently 12.77%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cheniere Energy

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LNG. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Cheniere Energy during the second quarter worth about $441,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 25,323 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $4,427,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Cheniere Energy by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,559 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $447,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors acquired a new position in Cheniere Energy during the second quarter worth $253,000. Finally, United Capital Management of KS Inc. boosted its position in Cheniere Energy by 2.2% during the second quarter. United Capital Management of KS Inc. now owns 20,241 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $3,539,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

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.