Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) Reaches New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $202.00 to $253.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Cheniere Energy traded as high as $248.61 and last traded at $245.88, with a volume of 2477909 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $243.09.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $213.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Cheniere Energy from $201.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group increased their price target on Cheniere Energy from $232.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $234.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $215.00 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $231.18.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of LNG. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Cheniere Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $2,127,000. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $4,455,000. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 42.1% in the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 12,919 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $2,323,000 after purchasing an additional 3,828 shares during the last quarter. Covea Finance lifted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. Covea Finance now owns 121,400 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $26,085,000 after purchasing an additional 19,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,324,360 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $238,173,000 after purchasing an additional 37,729 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy Stock Down 0.4 %

The stock has a market cap of $56.70 billion, a PE ratio of 16.14 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a 50 day moving average of $219.76 and a 200-day moving average of $195.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $3.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $2.06. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 22.70% and a return on equity of 41.44%. The business had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.76 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.37 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 12.66 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.77%.

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.