Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) have been given an average recommendation of “Buy” by the twenty-one research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $298.8824.

LNG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research raised Cheniere Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Cheniere Energy from $286.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Cheniere Energy from $313.00 to $308.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Cheniere Energy from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

NYSE LNG opened at $269.27 on Friday. Cheniere Energy has a twelve month low of $186.20 and a twelve month high of $300.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55. The stock has a market cap of $56.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.29 and a beta of -0.01. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $244.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $242.07.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a dividend of $0.555 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.51%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheniere Energy

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Cheniere Energy by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,219,557 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $4,124,870,000 after buying an additional 414,022 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Cheniere Energy by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,174,695 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,200,299,000 after buying an additional 167,622 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $731,774,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,279,078 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $443,031,000 after buying an additional 253,469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,263,826 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $440,047,000 after buying an additional 134,695 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

About Cheniere Energy

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.