Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) Reaches New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $202.00 to $253.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Cheniere Energy traded as high as $248.61 and last traded at $245.88, with a volume of 2477909 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $243.09.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $232.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $213.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Cheniere Energy in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $215.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank began coverage on Cheniere Energy in a research report on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $242.00 target price on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $202.00 to $242.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cheniere Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $231.18.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheniere Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,127,000. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Cheniere Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,455,000. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its position in Cheniere Energy by 42.1% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 12,919 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $2,323,000 after acquiring an additional 3,828 shares during the period. Covea Finance increased its stake in Cheniere Energy by 18.8% during the fourth quarter. Covea Finance now owns 121,400 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $26,085,000 after acquiring an additional 19,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,324,360 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $238,173,000 after purchasing an additional 37,729 shares during the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cheniere Energy Trading Down 0.4 %

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $219.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $195.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market cap of $56.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.14 and a beta of 0.99.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $3.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $2.06. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.76 billion. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 22.70% and a return on equity of 41.44%. Cheniere Energy’s revenue was down 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.37 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 12.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.