Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) Price Target Raised to $285.00

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) had its target price increased by Scotiabank from $266.00 to $285.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a sector outperform rating on the energy company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on LNG. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $282.00 to $271.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings lowered Cheniere Energy from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wolfe Research set a $220.00 target price on Cheniere Energy and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $254.00 target price on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Cheniere Energy from $284.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Cheniere Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $264.89.

Cheniere Energy Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of LNG stock opened at $254.77 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Cheniere Energy has a one year low of $186.20 and a one year high of $259.24. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $213.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $216.99. The company has a market capitalization of $53.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.48 and a beta of 0.25.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The energy company reported $10.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.90 by $6.78. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 26.68% and a return on equity of 32.04%. The firm had revenue of $5.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.48 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.33 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Cheniere Energy will post 11.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 26th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the energy company to repurchase up to 21.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th were paid a $0.555 dividend. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.14%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Altman Advisors Inc. grew its position in Cheniere Energy by 0.4% in the second quarter. Altman Advisors Inc. now owns 10,206 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $2,409,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC raised its position in Cheniere Energy by 1.5% during the third quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 3,268 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $768,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Childress Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Cheniere Energy by 0.9% during the third quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,385 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,265,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 688 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $162,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Howard Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,488 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $350,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

About Cheniere Energy

Cheniere Energy, Inc is a U.S.-based energy company that develops, owns and operates liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure and markets LNG to global customers. The company’s core activities include natural gas liquefaction, long‑term and short‑term LNG sales and marketing, and the associated midstream services required to move gas from production basins to international markets. Cheniere focuses on converting domestic natural gas into LNG for export, providing a bridge between North American supply and overseas demand.

Cheniere’s principal operating assets are large-scale LNG export terminals located on the U.S.