Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) Stock Has Average Price Target of $306.12

Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) has been given an average rating of “Buy” by the twenty brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, sixteen have given a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $306.47.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on LNG shares. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $290.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Barclays increased their price target on Cheniere Energy from $279.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Cheniere Energy in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $283.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $310.00 price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Friday, August 7th.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

Shares of LNG stock opened at $277.95 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $274.32 and a 200 day moving average of $260.96. Cheniere Energy has a 1 year low of $186.20 and a 1 year high of $300.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.06.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The energy company reported $3.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.11 by ($0.09). Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 13.57% and a return on equity of 29.80%. The firm had revenue of $5.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $7.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Cheniere Energy will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th were issued a $0.5550 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is presently 16.53%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheniere Energy

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy in the second quarter valued at about $502,015,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Cheniere Energy by 210.1% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,444,403 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $584,237,000 after purchasing an additional 1,656,194 shares during the last quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp increased its position in Cheniere Energy by 6,513.7% during the first quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 564,742 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $160,251,000 after purchasing an additional 556,203 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in Cheniere Energy by 518.8% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 577,533 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $112,267,000 after purchasing an additional 484,198 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in Cheniere Energy by 36.2% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,059,970 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $205,997,000 after purchasing an additional 281,504 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

About Cheniere Energy

Cheniere Energy, Inc is a Houston-based energy company focused on the production, liquefaction and export of liquefied natural gas (LNG). Through its subsidiaries, the company purchases natural gas, processes it into LNG and sells it to customers under long-term agreements and in the global LNG market. Its operations also include LNG-related infrastructure, marketing and transportation activities.

Cheniere’s principal assets include the Sabine Pass LNG facility in Louisiana and the Corpus Christi LNG facility in Texas.