Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) Receives $267.53 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-one brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eighteen have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $265.2353.

A number of analysts have commented on LNG shares. Citigroup reduced their price target on Cheniere Energy from $283.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group set a $290.00 target price on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Cheniere Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $261.00 to $257.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 13th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cheniere Energy news, Director W Benjamin Moreland purchased 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $208.22 per share, for a total transaction of $1,041,100.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 9,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,052,216.32. This trade represents a 102.97% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cheniere Energy

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 44,721 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $8,693,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares in the last quarter. Generate Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in Cheniere Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $10,691,000. Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Cheniere Energy by 23.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,294 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 4,423 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $860,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Albert D Mason Inc. raised its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 2,515 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $489,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

LNG traded up $8.07 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $201.76. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 400,508 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,710,367. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $200.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $220.87. The firm has a market cap of $43.43 billion, a PE ratio of 11.19, a P/E/G ratio of 6.21 and a beta of 0.26. Cheniere Energy has a one year low of $186.20 and a one year high of $257.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The energy company reported $4.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.75 by $2.00. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 21.12% and a return on equity of 37.52%. The firm had revenue of $4.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.93 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Cheniere Energy will post 11.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 18th. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th were paid a dividend of $0.555 per share. This is a boost from Cheniere Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 7th. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 12.37%.

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.