Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) Receives $236.33 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $236.33.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Cheniere Energy from $213.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com upgraded Cheniere Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Cheniere Energy from $237.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Cheniere Energy from $202.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director G Andrea Botta sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.51, for a total transaction of $1,975,590.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 33,934 shares in the company, valued at $7,448,852.34. This trade represents a 20.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LNG. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,681,846 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,220,858,000 after buying an additional 243,418 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,438,428 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $978,047,000 after purchasing an additional 167,575 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 195.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,200,456 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $755,410,000 after purchasing an additional 2,776,920 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,126,512 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $886,664,000 after purchasing an additional 379,142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,237,303 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $695,599,000 after purchasing an additional 450,031 shares during the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cheniere Energy Stock Up 3.3 %

Shares of LNG stock opened at $218.61 on Thursday. Cheniere Energy has a 1-year low of $152.88 and a 1-year high of $257.65. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $224.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $207.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The company has a market cap of $48.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.36 and a beta of 0.94.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The energy company reported $4.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $1.59. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 37.19% and a net margin of 20.71%. The firm had revenue of $4.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Cheniere Energy will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.05%.

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.