Stifel Nicolaus Increases Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) Price Target to $208.00

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) had its price objective hoisted by Stifel Nicolaus from $204.00 to $208.00 in a report released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the energy company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on LNG. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $223.00 to $206.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Cheniere Energy in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued a neutral rating and a $162.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Cheniere Energy from $185.00 to $178.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $192.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Cheniere Energy from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cheniere Energy presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $196.40.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LNG opened at $157.21 on Monday. Cheniere Energy has a 1 year low of $135.30 and a 1 year high of $183.46. The company has a market cap of $36.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.66 and a beta of 0.95. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $157.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.59.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 3rd. The energy company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.17). The business had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.97 billion. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 28.55% and a return on equity of 48.95%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 41.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.89 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Cheniere Energy will post 8.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.435 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $1.74 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.11%. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 8.48%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheniere Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LNG. Sapient Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $1,283,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 28.9% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 198,555 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $33,895,000 after purchasing an additional 44,508 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,144,000. Rheos Capital Works Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,894,000. Finally, Riverstone Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Riverstone Advisors LLC now owns 14,882 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $2,540,000 after buying an additional 513 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.