Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) Given Average Rating of "Buy" by Analysts

Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Buy" from the sixteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fourteen have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $252.23.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Argus assumed coverage on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. They set a "buy" rating and a $255.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Mizuho increased their price target on Cheniere Energy from $248.00 to $254.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $252.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th.

Insider Transactions at Cheniere Energy

In other news, Director Neal A. Shear sold 4,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.93, for a total value of $1,057,499.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 29,733 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,312,236.69. This represents a 12.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Cheniere Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $629,197,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Cheniere Energy during the first quarter worth $294,793,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 84.6% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,651,500 shares of the energy company's stock worth $354,858,000 after purchasing an additional 756,900 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Cheniere Energy in the fourth quarter worth $130,772,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 18,281.6% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 575,897 shares of the energy company's stock worth $123,743,000 after purchasing an additional 572,764 shares during the period. 87.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cheniere Energy Price Performance

LNG stock opened at $234.72 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $52.06 billion, a PE ratio of 17.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $233.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $225.66. Cheniere Energy has a 12-month low of $163.00 and a 12-month high of $257.65.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The energy company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.81 by ($1.24). The firm had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.73 billion. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 32.62% and a net margin of 18.37%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Cheniere Energy will post 11.69 EPS for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. Cheniere Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.63%.

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.

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