Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG Position Raised by MAI Capital Management

MAI Capital Management raised its position in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 5.7% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 4,786 shares of the energy company’s stock after buying an additional 256 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $1,165,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy in the second quarter valued at $384,806,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Cheniere Energy in the first quarter worth about $294,793,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 704.3% in the 2nd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 952,092 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $231,853,000 after acquiring an additional 833,723 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 33.1% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 2,031,767 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $470,151,000 after acquiring an additional 504,960 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 25.7% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,395,267 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $554,265,000 after purchasing an additional 488,994 shares in the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cheniere Energy Stock Down 0.5%

LNG stock opened at $204.45 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.94, a P/E/G ratio of 6.08 and a beta of 0.36. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $188.70 and a 52-week high of $257.65. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $222.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $230.62.

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

Cheniere Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 18th. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th were given 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is presently 12.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $278.00 target price (up from $275.00) on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Friday, October 24th. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $268.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $275.00 target price on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Monday, November 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $268.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cheniere Energy news, Director W Benjamin Moreland acquired 5,000 shares of Cheniere Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $208.22 per share, with a total value of $1,041,100.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 9,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,052,216.32. The trade was a 102.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.