Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) Given New $254.00 Price Target at Scotiabank

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG - Get Free Report) had its target price increased by Scotiabank from $247.00 to $254.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "sector outperform" rating on the energy company's stock. Scotiabank's price target points to a potential upside of 15.16% from the company's current price.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $195.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays upped their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $202.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com upgraded Cheniere Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Cheniere Energy from $213.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Cheniere Energy from $237.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $236.33.

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Cheniere Energy Price Performance

Cheniere Energy stock traded up $5.16 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $220.57. 2,749,123 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,749,702. The stock's fifty day moving average is $225.15 and its 200-day moving average is $206.37. Cheniere Energy has a 12 month low of $152.88 and a 12 month high of $257.65. The stock has a market cap of $49.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.50 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The energy company reported $4.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.74 by $1.59. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 37.19% and a net margin of 20.71%. The business had revenue of $4.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Cheniere Energy will post 11.69 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director G Andrea Botta sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.51, for a total value of $1,975,590.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 33,934 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,448,852.34. This represents a 20.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cheniere Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in 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 in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in Cheniere Energy by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,438,428 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $978,047,000 after acquiring an additional 167,575 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Cheniere Energy by 195.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,200,456 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $755,410,000 after acquiring an additional 2,776,920 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Cheniere Energy by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,126,512 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $886,664,000 after acquiring an additional 379,142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Cheniere Energy by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,237,303 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $695,599,000 after acquiring an additional 450,031 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.26% of the company's stock.

Cheniere Energy Company Profile

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.