Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) Sets New 52-Week Low – Here’s What Happened

Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) shares reached a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $187.19 and last traded at $187.8230, with a volume of 130103 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $189.36.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on LNG shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $290.00 price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $275.00 price target on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Erste Group Bank downgraded Cheniere Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their target price on Cheniere Energy from $261.00 to $257.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $268.47.

Cheniere Energy Stock Down 1.2%

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $213.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $227.76. The stock has a market cap of $40.27 billion, a PE ratio of 10.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.64 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12.

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

Cheniere Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th were paid a dividend of $0.555 per share. This is a boost from Cheniere Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 7th. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.37%.

Insider Activity

In other Cheniere Energy news, Director W Benjamin Moreland bought 5,000 shares of Cheniere Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $208.22 per share, for a total transaction of $1,041,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 9,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,052,216.32. This represents a 102.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cheniere Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $957,425,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new position in Cheniere Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $384,806,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its stake in Cheniere Energy by 704.3% during the second quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 952,092 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $231,853,000 after purchasing an additional 833,723 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $142,688,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in Cheniere Energy by 33.1% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 2,031,767 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $470,151,000 after buying an additional 504,960 shares during the period. 87.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.