Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) Price Target Raised to $271.00 at Bank of America

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) had its target price hoisted by Bank of America from $258.00 to $271.00 in a research note released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the energy company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on LNG. Scotiabank dropped their target price on Cheniere Energy from $243.00 to $242.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $277.00 target price on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Argus initiated coverage on Cheniere Energy in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $255.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Cheniere Energy from $252.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut Cheniere Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cheniere Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $256.08.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

Shares of LNG opened at $236.72 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $234.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $225.92. Cheniere Energy has a 52-week low of $167.66 and a 52-week high of $257.65. The firm has a market cap of $52.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.32, a PEG ratio of 5.00 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The energy company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by ($1.24). The business had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 18.37% and a return on equity of 32.62%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Cheniere Energy will post 11.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 18th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cheniere Energy

In other Cheniere Energy news, Director Neal A. Shear sold 4,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.93, for a total transaction of $1,057,499.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 29,733 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,312,236.69. This represents a 12.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cheniere Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Altman Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Altman Advisors Inc. now owns 10,162 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $2,348,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust boosted its position in Cheniere Energy by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 4,212 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $975,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management boosted its position in Cheniere Energy by 14.0% during the 1st quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 390 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $90,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its position in Cheniere Energy by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,007 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $233,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BIP Wealth LLC boosted its position in Cheniere Energy by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. BIP Wealth LLC now owns 3,545 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $762,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is owned by 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.