Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $225.00.

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $202.00 to $242.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $204.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays raised 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $232.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cheniere Energy

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of LNG. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in Cheniere Energy by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,438,428 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $978,047,000 after purchasing an additional 167,575 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 195.1% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,200,456 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $755,410,000 after acquiring an additional 2,776,920 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 91.4% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,789,919 shares during the period. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. raised its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 9.2% in the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 3,242,899 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $566,956,000 after acquiring an additional 273,588 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,921,837 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $510,825,000 after acquiring an additional 202,097 shares in the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

Shares of LNG opened at $210.48 on Friday. Cheniere Energy has a 12-month low of $152.31 and a 12-month high of $228.10. The stock has a market cap of $47.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.44 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. The company has a 50-day moving average of $207.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $188.60.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $2.06. The firm had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 41.44% and a net margin of 22.70%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.37 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Cheniere Energy will post 11.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. 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.