Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) Sets New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on the stock from $204.00 to $237.00. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the stock. Cheniere Energy traded as high as $226.66 and last traded at $226.66, with a volume of 162487 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $223.72.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on LNG. UBS Group raised their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $232.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $215.00 price objective for the company. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $199.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target 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. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $202.00 to $242.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Cheniere Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $216.56.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LNG. Castellan Group bought a new position in Cheniere Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $5,515,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $159,000. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Cheniere Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $225,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its position in Cheniere Energy by 4.1% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 49,034 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $8,818,000 after purchasing an additional 1,922 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aldebaran Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 26.1% during the third quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. now owns 5,195 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $934,000 after purchasing an additional 1,076 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $199.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $182.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market cap of $50.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.44 and a beta of 0.97.

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

Cheniere Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.77%.

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.