Brokerages Set Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) Target Price at $251.46

Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) have been given a consensus rating of “Buy” by the sixteen research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fourteen have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $251.46.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LNG. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $248.00 to $254.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Wolfe Research downgraded Cheniere Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $252.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Cheniere Energy from $195.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cheniere Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st.

Cheniere Energy Stock Down 0.2 %

LNG opened at $234.98 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $224.01 and its 200 day moving average is $218.90. Cheniere Energy has a fifty-two week low of $153.03 and a fifty-two week high of $257.65. The stock has a market cap of $52.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.51 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The energy company reported $4.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by $1.59. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 20.71% and a return on equity of 37.19%. The firm had revenue of $4.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Cheniere Energy will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 19th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cheniere Energy

In related news, Director G Andrea Botta sold 9,000 shares of Cheniere Energy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.51, for a total transaction of $1,975,590.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 33,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,448,852.34. The trade was a 20.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cheniere Energy

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 27.0% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 89,109 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $20,620,000 after acquiring an additional 18,961 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in Cheniere Energy by 13.1% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 11,765 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $2,722,000 after purchasing an additional 1,359 shares during the period. Brookwood Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $394,000. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 13.8% in the 1st quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 1,868 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $432,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the period. Finally, Elm3 Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy in the first quarter worth about $237,000. 87.26% of the stock is 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.