Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $260.49 and last traded at $261.2970, with a volume of 1911811 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $251.50.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LNG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $274.00 to $271.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $266.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $254.00 price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $259.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $264.94.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $55.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.85 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $221.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $217.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The energy company reported $10.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.90 by $6.78. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 32.04% and a net margin of 26.68%.The company had revenue of $5.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.48 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.33 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 EPS for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th were given a dividend of $0.555 per share. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.14%.

Cheniere Energy declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 26th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the energy company to purchase up to 21.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheniere Energy

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,219,557 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $4,124,870,000 after purchasing an additional 414,022 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,174,695 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,200,299,000 after purchasing an additional 167,622 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Cheniere Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $957,425,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,279,078 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $443,031,000 after buying an additional 253,469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,263,826 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $440,047,000 after buying an additional 134,695 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

About Cheniere Energy

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.