UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) Stock

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) had its price objective lifted by UBS Group from $232.00 to $265.00 in a research note released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the energy company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on LNG. TD Cowen upped their price target on Cheniere Energy from $192.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $201.00 to $217.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $208.00 to $204.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $215.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $199.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cheniere Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $208.44.

Cheniere Energy Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE LNG opened at $212.30 on Friday. Cheniere Energy has a 1-year low of $152.31 and a 1-year high of $217.95. The company has a 50-day moving average of $187.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $176.68. The company has a market cap of $47.63 billion, a PE ratio of 13.56 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $3.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $2.06. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 22.70% and a return on equity of 41.44%. The business had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.37 earnings per share. Cheniere Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Cheniere Energy will post 11.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 18th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is presently 12.77%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 195.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,200,456 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $755,410,000 after purchasing an additional 2,776,920 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 1,490.1% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,957,451 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $342,221,000 after buying an additional 1,834,347 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 328.2% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 894,600 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $160,885,000 after buying an additional 685,662 shares in the last quarter. Darlington Partners Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 74.6% during the second quarter. Darlington Partners Capital Management LP now owns 1,514,155 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $264,720,000 after acquiring an additional 647,096 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zimmer Partners LP increased its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 61.4% during the first quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 1,222,723 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $197,201,000 after acquiring an additional 465,000 shares in the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.