Zacks Research Upgrades Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) to “Strong-Buy”

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on LNG. UBS Group set a $290.00 price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Benchmark restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Citigroup raised their target price on Cheniere Energy from $280.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Cheniere Energy from $313.00 to $308.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Cheniere Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cheniere Energy has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $297.71.

Cheniere Energy Stock Up 0.7%

LNG stock opened at $265.05 on Monday. Cheniere Energy has a 52-week low of $186.20 and a 52-week high of $300.89. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $241.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $238.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.59 and a beta of -0.01.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheniere Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Northside Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Cheniere Energy by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Northside Capital Management LLC now owns 43,164 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $10,317,000 after buying an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $314,000. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 45.8% during the 2nd quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd now owns 48,440 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $11,815,000 after acquiring an additional 15,220 shares in the last quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy in the second quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Sapient Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 3.6% in the second quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 4,149 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $992,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy Company Profile

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.