Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) Position Decreased by Beach Investment Counsel Inc. PA

Beach Investment Counsel Inc. PA trimmed its position in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 2.6% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 115,895 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 3,096 shares during the quarter. Cheniere Energy comprises about 3.9% of Beach Investment Counsel Inc. PA’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Beach Investment Counsel Inc. PA’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $26,818,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 4.5% in the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 243,418 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,126,512 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $886,664,000 after purchasing an additional 379,142 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,237,303 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $695,599,000 after purchasing an additional 450,031 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Cheniere Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $629,197,000. Finally, Amundi boosted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,696,002 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $606,907,000 after purchasing an additional 448,189 shares in the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Cheniere Energy

In related news, Director Neal A. Shear sold 4,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now owns 29,733 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,312,236.69. This represents a 12.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho upped their price target on Cheniere Energy from $248.00 to $254.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Bank of America upped their price target on Cheniere Energy from $254.00 to $258.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $277.00 price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $243.00 to $242.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $252.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $252.23.

Cheniere Energy Price Performance

Cheniere Energy stock opened at $243.02 on Friday. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $154.82 and a 12 month high of $257.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $229.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $224.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.90 billion, a PE ratio of 17.08 and a beta of 0.43.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The energy company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.81 by ($1.24). Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 37.19% and a net margin of 20.71%. The company had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.13 EPS. Cheniere Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.63%.

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.