Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) Given Consensus Rating of “Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the sixteen analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $251.46.

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $202.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $243.00 to $242.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $195.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Cheniere Energy from $255.00 to $247.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised Cheniere Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st.

Cheniere Energy Price Performance

LNG stock opened at $230.67 on Friday. Cheniere Energy has a 1 year low of $153.03 and a 1 year high of $257.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.40 billion, a PE ratio of 16.21 and a beta of 0.67. The company’s 50-day moving average is $222.97 and its 200-day moving average is $217.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

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

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 19th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cheniere Energy

In other news, Director G Andrea Botta sold 9,000 shares of Cheniere Energy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.51, for a total transaction of $1,975,590.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 33,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,448,852.34. This trade represents a 20.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheniere Energy

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cahaba Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. Cahaba Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,090 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $252,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 154.7% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,758 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $2,027,000 after purchasing an additional 5,320 shares in the last quarter. TFR Capital LLC. increased its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. TFR Capital LLC. now owns 7,319 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,694,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 24,839 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $5,748,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 51.5% during the 1st quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 780 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $180,000 after buying an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.