Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) Given New $284.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) had its target price raised by Wells Fargo & Company from $267.00 to $284.00 in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the energy company’s stock.

LNG has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Cheniere Energy from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Bank of America raised their target price on Cheniere Energy from $258.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $262.00 target price (up previously from $253.00) on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $261.93.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

Shares of LNG opened at $232.84 on Tuesday. Cheniere Energy has a 12 month low of $175.14 and a 12 month high of $257.65. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $234.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $228.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. The firm has a market cap of $51.17 billion, a PE ratio of 13.59 and a beta of 0.43.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The energy company reported $7.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $4.95. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 37.83% and a net margin of 21.05%. The firm had revenue of $4.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.48 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.84 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 42.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Cheniere Energy will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 18th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.68%.

Insider Activity at Cheniere Energy

In other news, Director Neal A. Shear sold 4,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.93, for a total transaction of $1,057,499.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 29,733 shares in the company, valued at $7,312,236.69. This trade represents a 12.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheniere Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,937,749 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $4,844,995,000 after acquiring an additional 54,801 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,681,846 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,220,858,000 after acquiring an additional 243,418 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,687,388 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,141,473,000 after acquiring an additional 26,843 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $957,425,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,874,796 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $940,578,000 after acquiring an additional 70,475 shares during the period. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.