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

Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $231.64.

LNG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $204.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $202.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $213.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $215.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective 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.

Cheniere Energy Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE LNG opened at $231.73 on Wednesday. Cheniere Energy has a 12-month low of $152.31 and a 12-month high of $257.65. The company has a market capitalization of $51.99 billion, a PE ratio of 14.80 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $222.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $197.77.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $3.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $2.06. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 22.70% and a return on equity of 41.44%. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.37 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Cheniere Energy will post 12.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is currently 12.77%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheniere Energy

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 3.2% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,438,428 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $978,047,000 after acquiring an additional 167,575 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 195.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,200,456 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $755,410,000 after purchasing an additional 2,776,920 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 91.4% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,747,370 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $673,927,000 after purchasing an additional 1,789,919 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,793,989 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $322,631,000 after purchasing an additional 178,318 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 61.2% during the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,664,439 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $357,638,000 after purchasing an additional 631,787 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

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.