Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) Given New $255.00 Price Target at Stifel Nicolaus

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) had its price target increased by Stifel Nicolaus from $237.00 to $255.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the energy company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. TD Cowen raised their target price on Cheniere Energy from $242.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Cheniere Energy from $242.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $195.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $213.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Cheniere Energy from $202.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.75.

Cheniere Energy Trading Down 2.7 %

Shares of LNG stock opened at $220.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $223.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $203.98. Cheniere Energy has a 1 year low of $152.31 and a 1 year high of $257.65. The company has a market cap of $49.56 billion, a PE ratio of 15.52 and a beta of 0.98.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The energy company reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $1.59. The company had revenue of $4.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 37.19% and a net margin of 20.71%. Research analysts predict that Cheniere Energy will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.05%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cheniere Energy

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,681,846 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,220,858,000 after purchasing an additional 243,418 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,438,428 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $978,047,000 after purchasing an additional 167,575 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 195.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,200,456 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $755,410,000 after acquiring an additional 2,776,920 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,126,512 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $886,664,000 after acquiring an additional 379,142 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,237,303 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $695,599,000 after acquiring an additional 450,031 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

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.