Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) Reaches New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Cheniere Energy reached a new 52-week high, trading near $301 after JPMorgan raised its price target from $334 to $344 and maintained an overweight rating.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $310.65; 87.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
• Cheniere reported quarterly revenue of $5.73 billion, up 23.5% year over year, though adjusted earnings of $3.02 per share fell short of estimates. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.555 per share.

Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Monday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $334.00 to $344.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Cheniere Energy traded as high as $301.89 and last traded at $300.95, with a volume of 697,298 shares. The stock had previously closed at $298.67.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $336.00 target price on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Saturday, October 10th. Argus set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $283.00 price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $310.00 price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $340.00 price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Monday, October 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cheniere Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $310.65.

Institutional Trading of Cheniere Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 174.3% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,244,268 shares of the energy company's stock worth $636,834,000 after buying an additional 1,426,058 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 210.1% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,444,403 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $584,237,000 after buying an additional 1,656,194 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 12.6% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,135,088 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $510,307,000 after buying an additional 239,680 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 50.2% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 867,496 shares of the energy company's stock worth $246,161,000 after buying an additional 289,963 shares during the period. Finally, Chickasaw Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC now owns 893,452 shares of the energy company's stock worth $240,365,000 after buying an additional 37,325 shares during the period. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97. The company's 50 day moving average is $278.86 and its 200-day moving average is $260.89. The company has a market capitalization of $62.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.06.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The energy company reported $3.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.11 by ($0.09). Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 29.80% and a net margin of 13.57%. The business had revenue of $5.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.92 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $7.30 EPS. The company's revenue was up 23.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 16.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th were given a $0.5550 dividend. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. Cheniere Energy's payout ratio is currently 16.53%.

About Cheniere Energy

Cheniere Energy, Inc is an energy infrastructure company engaged primarily in the production and export of liquefied natural gas (LNG). The company purchases natural gas, processes it through liquefaction facilities, and delivers LNG to customers in international energy markets. Its operations also include natural gas procurement, transportation, storage, and LNG marketing.

Cheniere operates the Sabine Pass LNG facility in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, and the Corpus Christi LNG facility near Corpus Christi, Texas.

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