Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) Coverage Initiated at Bank of America

Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) in a research note published on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $215.00 price target on the energy company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on LNG. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Cheniere Energy in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Barclays raised their price target on Cheniere Energy from $199.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Cheniere Energy from $201.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Cheniere Energy from $208.00 to $204.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.00.

Cheniere Energy Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Cheniere Energy stock opened at $182.19 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.87 and a beta of 0.94. Cheniere Energy has a fifty-two week low of $152.31 and a fifty-two week high of $193.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $183.11 and a 200 day moving average of $171.41.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The energy company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 39.42% and a net margin of 27.05%. As a group, research analysts predict that Cheniere Energy will post 9.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 7th were issued a $0.775 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 7th. This is a positive change from Cheniere Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $3.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.48%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LNG. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 1,490.1% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,957,451 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $342,221,000 after purchasing an additional 1,834,347 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Cheniere Energy by 231.8% in the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,338,752 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $215,914,000 after buying an additional 935,239 shares in the last quarter. Darlington Partners Capital Management LP raised its stake in Cheniere Energy by 74.6% in the second quarter. Darlington Partners Capital Management LP now owns 1,514,155 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $264,720,000 after buying an additional 647,096 shares in the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP raised its stake in Cheniere Energy by 61.4% in the first quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 1,222,723 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $197,201,000 after buying an additional 465,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Cheniere Energy in the first quarter valued at $70,682,000. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.