Royal Bank of Canada Increases Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) Price Target to $217.00

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) had its price objective upped by Royal Bank of Canada from $201.00 to $217.00 in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the energy company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Cheniere Energy in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on Cheniere Energy from $199.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $208.00 to $204.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.00.

Cheniere Energy Stock Down 0.1 %

LNG stock opened at $182.19 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $183.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $171.41. Cheniere Energy has a 12 month low of $152.31 and a 12 month high of $193.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.87 and a beta of 0.94.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The energy company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.04 billion. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 27.05% and a return on equity of 39.42%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Cheniere Energy will post 9.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 7th were issued a dividend of $0.775 per share. This is a positive change from Cheniere Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 7th. This represents a $3.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.70%. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.48%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheniere Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Cheniere Energy by 1,490.1% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,957,451 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $342,221,000 after buying an additional 1,834,347 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 231.8% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,338,752 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $215,914,000 after acquiring an additional 935,239 shares in the last quarter. Darlington Partners Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 74.6% in the 2nd quarter. Darlington Partners Capital Management LP now owns 1,514,155 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $264,720,000 after purchasing an additional 647,096 shares during the period. Zimmer Partners LP boosted its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 61.4% during the 1st quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 1,222,723 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $197,201,000 after purchasing an additional 465,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Cheniere Energy during the first quarter worth approximately $70,682,000. 87.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.