Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) Reaches New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday after Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on the stock from $204.00 to $237.00. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the stock. Cheniere Energy traded as high as $226.66 and last traded at $226.66, with a volume of 162487 shares. The stock had previously closed at $223.72.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on LNG. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $202.00 to $242.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $215.00 price target for the company. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $199.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $201.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $232.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $216.56.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheniere Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Castellan Group bought a new position in Cheniere Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $5,515,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Cheniere Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $159,000. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Cheniere Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $225,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 49,034 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $8,818,000 after buying an additional 1,922 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aldebaran Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 26.1% in the 3rd quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. now owns 5,195 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $934,000 after buying an additional 1,076 shares during the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cheniere Energy Trading Down 1.8 %

The business’s fifty day moving average is $199.45 and its 200-day moving average is $182.68. The firm has a market cap of $49.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.17 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $3.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $2.06. The business had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.76 billion. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 22.70% and a return on equity of 41.44%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.37 EPS. Analysts predict that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.26 EPS for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is 12.77%.

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.