Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) Upgraded to Outperform at Wolfe Research

Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) from a peer perform rating to an outperform rating in a report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $220.00 target price on the energy company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on LNG. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $283.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group set a $290.00 target price on Cheniere Energy in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $259.00 price target on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Thursday. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $278.00 target price (up previously from $275.00) on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $254.00 price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $265.06.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LNG opened at $199.46 on Wednesday. Cheniere Energy has a 52-week low of $186.20 and a 52-week high of $257.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.11, a PEG ratio of 6.22 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $200.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $220.72.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The energy company reported $4.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $2.00. The firm had revenue of $4.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.87 billion. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 21.12%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.93 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Cheniere Energy will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 7th were paid a dividend of $0.555 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 7th. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. This is a boost from Cheniere Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 12.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director W Benjamin Moreland acquired 5,000 shares of Cheniere Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $208.22 per share, for a total transaction of $1,041,100.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 9,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,052,216.32. The trade was a 102.97% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheniere Energy

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 6.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,007,073 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,411,542,000 after purchasing an additional 377,369 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 0.6% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,687,388 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,141,473,000 after purchasing an additional 26,843 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Cheniere Energy in the second quarter valued at $957,425,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,874,796 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $940,578,000 after purchasing an additional 70,475 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 21.5% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,025,609 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $475,633,000 after buying an additional 359,123 shares during the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cheniere Energy Company Profile

Cheniere Energy, Inc is a U.S.-based energy company that develops, owns and operates liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure and markets LNG to global customers. The company’s core activities include natural gas liquefaction, long‑term and short‑term LNG sales and marketing, and the associated midstream services required to move gas from production basins to international markets. Cheniere focuses on converting domestic natural gas into LNG for export, providing a bridge between North American supply and overseas demand.

Cheniere’s principal operating assets are large-scale LNG export terminals located on the U.S.