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

Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) shares reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $218.17 and last traded at $218.10, with a volume of 1127959 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $214.75.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LNG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $215.00 target price on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $199.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $232.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $208.00 to $204.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $192.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cheniere Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $208.44.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average is $190.10 and its 200 day moving average is $177.81. The firm has a market cap of $50.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.35 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $3.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $2.06. The firm had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 22.70% and a return on equity of 41.44%. The business’s revenue was down 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.37 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is 12.77%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 3.7% in the third quarter. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,498 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $269,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 4,204 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $756,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Signature Wealth Management Group lifted its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Signature Wealth Management Group now owns 4,758 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $832,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 7,514 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,351,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 57.6% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 186 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is currently 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.