Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The energy company reported $4.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $1.59, Zacks reports. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 22.70% and a return on equity of 41.44%.

Cheniere Energy Trading Up 2.6 %

NYSE LNG traded up $5.75 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $224.56. 1,736,512 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,361,400. Cheniere Energy has a 1-year low of $152.31 and a 1-year high of $257.65. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $222.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $203.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.38 billion, a PE ratio of 14.30 and a beta of 0.98. 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 Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $234.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $195.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $213.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $204.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, 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 report on Monday, January 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cheniere Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $234.25.

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.