Vanguard Group Inc. Lowers Holdings in Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its stake in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 0.1% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 20,913,081 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 24,668 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.09% of Cheniere Energy worth $5,092,753,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LNG. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in Cheniere Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $335,000. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 48.3% in the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 5,833 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,350,000 after purchasing an additional 1,899 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 385.9% during the first quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 7,026 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,626,000 after buying an additional 5,580 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 24.5% during the first quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 5,304 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,227,000 after buying an additional 1,044 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crestwood Advisors Group LLC acquired a new stake in Cheniere Energy during the first quarter valued at $1,468,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy Stock Down 1.2%

LNG opened at $209.98 on Thursday. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $188.70 and a twelve month high of $257.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $223.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $231.31. The company has a market cap of $45.20 billion, a PE ratio of 12.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.08 and a beta of 0.36.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The energy company reported $4.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $2.00. The company had revenue of $4.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.87 billion. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 37.83% and a net margin of 21.05%.Cheniere Energy’s revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.93 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 7th were issued a dividend of $0.555 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 7th. This is a positive change from Cheniere Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is currently 12.37%.

Insider Activity at Cheniere Energy

In other Cheniere Energy news, Director W Benjamin Moreland purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $208.22 per share, with a total value of $1,041,100.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 9,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,052,216.32. This represents a 102.97% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on LNG shares. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Mizuho increased their price target on Cheniere Energy from $268.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Zacks Research lowered Cheniere Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $268.47.

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.