Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) Shares Cross Above Fifty Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) passed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $283.54 and traded as high as $286.18. Cheniere Energy shares last traded at $285.2380, with a volume of 2,320,800 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on LNG. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $340.00 price target on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $310.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $300.00 to $319.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Cheniere Energy from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cheniere Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $324.41.

Cheniere Energy Stock Up 2.6%

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $283.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $258.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The company has a market cap of $58.25 billion, a PE ratio of 19.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.01.

Cheniere Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 9th will be paid a $0.6250 dividend. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 9th. This is an increase from Cheniere Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.5550. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.49%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 210.1% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,444,403 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $584,237,000 after purchasing an additional 1,656,194 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Cheniere Energy by 174.3% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,244,268 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $636,834,000 after buying an additional 1,426,058 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Cheniere Energy by 12.6% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,135,088 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $510,307,000 after buying an additional 239,680 shares during the period. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Cheniere Energy by 4.4% during the third quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC now owns 893,452 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $240,365,000 after buying an additional 37,325 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in Cheniere Energy by 50.2% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 867,496 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $246,161,000 after buying an additional 289,963 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy Company Profile

Cheniere Energy, Inc is a U.S. energy company focused on producing and exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG). Its operations include the Sabine Pass LNG facility in Louisiana and the Corpus Christi LNG facility in Texas, where natural gas is processed and liquefied for shipment.

The company supplies LNG to customers in international markets, including countries in Asia, Europe and Latin America. Its activities also include sourcing natural gas and marketing LNG under long-term and other sales agreements.

Founded in 1996, Cheniere initially developed LNG import infrastructure before shifting its focus to U.S.