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

Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $268.4667.

LNG has been the subject of several research reports. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $278.00 target price (up from $275.00) on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $268.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $290.00 price objective on Cheniere Energy in a report on Thursday, October 30th.

Cheniere Energy Trading Up 0.1%

Cheniere Energy stock opened at $215.39 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $46.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.57, a PEG ratio of 6.08 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Cheniere Energy has a 1 year low of $188.70 and a 1 year high of $257.65. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $224.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $231.62.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The energy company reported $4.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.75 by $2.00. The firm had revenue of $4.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.87 billion. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 21.05% and a return on equity of 37.83%. Cheniere Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.93 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Cheniere Energy will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 18th. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th will be given a $0.555 dividend. This is a boost from Cheniere Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 7th. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.37%.

Insider Transactions at Cheniere Energy

In other Cheniere Energy news, Director W Benjamin Moreland acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $208.22 per share, for a total transaction of $1,041,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 9,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,052,216.32. This trade represents a 102.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cheniere Energy

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Cheniere Energy by 27.6% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,304,253 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $301,804,000 after acquiring an additional 282,050 shares during the last quarter. Thompson Davis & CO. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy during the first quarter worth $529,000. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 7.6% during the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 1,494,901 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $345,920,000 after purchasing an additional 105,875 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 718.1% in the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,669 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $406,000 after purchasing an additional 1,465 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fractal Investments LLC increased its stake in Cheniere Energy by 27.7% in the 1st quarter. Fractal Investments LLC now owns 75,585 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $17,490,000 after buying an additional 16,385 shares during the period. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.