Brokerages Set Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) PT at $192.56

Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $193.90.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on LNG. StockNews.com lowered Cheniere Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. TD Cowen cut their price target on Cheniere Energy from $185.00 to $178.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $192.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $223.00 to $206.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $162.00 target price on the stock.

Cheniere Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LNG opened at $157.36 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $157.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.59, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The stock has a market cap of $36.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.94. Cheniere Energy has a 1 year low of $135.30 and a 1 year high of $183.46.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The energy company reported $5.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.70 by $3.06. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 48.45% and a return on equity of 69.52%. The company had revenue of $4.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $15.78 earnings per share. Cheniere Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 46.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Cheniere Energy will post 8.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 6th were paid a dividend of $0.435 per share. This represents a $1.74 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 5th. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4.30%.

Institutional Trading of Cheniere Energy

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Cheniere Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $308,910,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 73.0% during the 3rd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,496,100 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $248,293,000 after purchasing an additional 631,100 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 702.1% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 490,606 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $81,421,000 after purchasing an additional 429,438 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 35.6% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,399,852 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $232,319,000 after buying an additional 367,275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 126.8% during the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 645,523 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $107,131,000 after buying an additional 360,915 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

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.