Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) Price Target Raised to $255.00

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) had its target price lifted by Stifel Nicolaus from $237.00 to $255.00 in a report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the energy company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on LNG. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Cheniere Energy from $242.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Cheniere Energy from $213.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Cheniere Energy from $242.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group lifted their price target on Cheniere Energy from $232.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Cheniere Energy from $195.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.75.

Cheniere Energy Price Performance

Shares of LNG stock opened at $220.90 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $49.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.52 and a beta of 0.98. Cheniere Energy has a fifty-two week low of $152.31 and a fifty-two week high of $257.65. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $223.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $203.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The energy company reported $4.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by $1.59. The firm had revenue of $4.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 37.19% and a net margin of 20.71%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Cheniere Energy will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.05%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,681,846 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,220,858,000 after purchasing an additional 243,418 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 167,575 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 195.1% in the third 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 last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,126,512 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $886,664,000 after purchasing an additional 379,142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,237,303 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $695,599,000 after purchasing an additional 450,031 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.