Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $249.63, but opened at $244.00. Cheniere Energy shares last traded at $238.75, with a volume of 422,722 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LNG. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $213.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays increased their price target on Cheniere Energy from $202.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $234.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $242.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $201.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $231.64.

Cheniere Energy Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $221.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $196.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. The company has a market cap of $52.87 billion, a PE ratio of 15.07 and a beta of 0.99.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $3.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $2.06. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 22.70% and a return on equity of 41.44%. The firm had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.76 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.37 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 12.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 18th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is presently 12.77%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 170.5% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 119 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC purchased a new position in Cheniere Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Cheniere Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy during the second quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Adirondack Trust Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. 87.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.