Brokerages Set Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) Target Price at $234.25

Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twelve have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $234.25.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on LNG shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $213.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $234.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $232.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Barclays increased their target price on Cheniere Energy from $202.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on Cheniere Energy from $242.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st.

Institutional Trading of Cheniere Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Forum Financial Management LP increased its stake in Cheniere Energy by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 2,822 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $606,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Cheniere Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,463,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its position in Cheniere Energy by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 95,632 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $20,548,000 after buying an additional 8,944 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC boosted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 12,386 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $2,661,000 after buying an additional 628 shares during the period. Finally, Vega Investment Solutions purchased a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $190,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy Stock Up 3.6 %

LNG opened at $226.80 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $222.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $203.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.48 and a beta of 0.98. Cheniere Energy has a fifty-two week low of $152.31 and a fifty-two week high of $257.65. 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 quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The energy company reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $1.59. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 41.44% and a net margin of 22.70%. On average, research analysts expect that Cheniere Energy will post 12.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is 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.