Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) Sets New 52-Week 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.

LNG has been the subject of several other research reports. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Cheniere Energy from $202.00 to $242.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America began coverage on Cheniere Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $215.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Cheniere Energy from $204.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Cheniere Energy from $234.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $201.00 to $217.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $231.18.

Institutional Trading of Cheniere Energy

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LNG. Inspire Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $866,000. Adirondack Trust Co. bought a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Mutual Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 7,829 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,682,000 after purchasing an additional 491 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in Cheniere Energy by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 129,465 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $27,818,000 after buying an additional 8,996 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GoalVest Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $1,450,000. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

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

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $3.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $2.06. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 41.44% and a net margin of 22.70%. The business had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.37 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 12.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.77%.

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.