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

Key Points

• Cheniere Energy, Inc. has received a consensus recommendation of "Buy" from 17 brokerages, with an average 12-month price target of $263.29.
• The company recently reported $7.30 EPS for its quarterly earnings, significantly exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.35, along with a year-over-year revenue increase of 42.8%.
• Cheniere Energy declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 0.8% and a payout ratio of 11.68%.

Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Buy" from the seventeen brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $263.2857.

LNG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $258.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $262.00 price target (up previously from $253.00) on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Cheniere Energy from $267.00 to $284.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on Cheniere Energy from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th.

Institutional Trading of Cheniere Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LNG. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in Cheniere Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $335,000. AXA S.A. grew its stake in Cheniere Energy by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 31,816 shares of the energy company's stock worth $6,836,000 after purchasing an additional 2,369 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Cheniere Energy by 161.0% in the fourth quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,406 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $732,000 after acquiring an additional 2,101 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Cheniere Energy by 34.9% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 85,244 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $18,316,000 after acquiring an additional 22,055 shares during the period. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Cheniere Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $181,000. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cheniere Energy Stock Down 0.5%

LNG opened at $239.61 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $235.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $230.42. Cheniere Energy has a twelve month low of $175.14 and a twelve month high of $257.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market cap of $52.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.99 and a beta of 0.43.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The energy company reported $7.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.35 by $4.95. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 37.83% and a net margin of 21.05%.The company had revenue of $4.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.48 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.84 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 42.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Cheniere Energy will post 11.69 EPS for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Cheniere Energy's payout ratio is 11.68%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.