Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at Bank of America

Bank of America began coverage on shares of Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) in a report published on Thursday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $215.00 price objective on the energy company’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the company. Barclays upped their target price on Cheniere Energy from $199.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Cheniere Energy in a report on Monday, June 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Cheniere Energy from $201.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Cheniere Energy from $208.00 to $204.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cheniere Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.00.

Cheniere Energy Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of LNG opened at $182.19 on Thursday. Cheniere Energy has a 52 week low of $152.31 and a 52 week high of $193.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63. The company has a market capitalization of $41.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.87 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $183.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $171.41.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The energy company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.12. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 39.42% and a net margin of 27.05%. The firm had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.04 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Cheniere Energy will post 9.76 EPS for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 7th were issued a dividend of $0.775 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 7th. This represents a $3.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. This is a boost from Cheniere Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.48%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheniere Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 9.8% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 310,715 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $55,879,000 after purchasing an additional 27,669 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 205.4% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,417 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $248,000 after purchasing an additional 953 shares during the last quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $581,000. Stratos Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 5.6% in the third quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC now owns 23,635 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $4,251,000 after purchasing an additional 1,251 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 18.4% in the third quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,773 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $319,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

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.