Stifel Nicolaus Issues Positive Forecast for Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) Stock Price

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

LNG has been the subject of a number of other research reports. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $242.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $232.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $234.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $202.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $242.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.75.

Cheniere Energy Price Performance

NYSE LNG opened at $220.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.07. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $222.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $203.27. Cheniere Energy has a 52-week low of $152.31 and a 52-week high of $257.65. The company has a market cap of $49.56 billion, a PE ratio of 14.11 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by $1.59. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 22.70% and a return on equity of 41.44%. The firm had revenue of $4.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Cheniere Energy will post 12.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Forum Financial Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 2,822 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $606,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the fourth quarter worth $3,463,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 95,632 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $20,548,000 after purchasing an additional 8,944 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 12,386 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $2,661,000 after purchasing an additional 628 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vega Investment Solutions purchased a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the fourth quarter worth $190,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

About Cheniere Energy

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.