Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Boosts Stock Position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 14.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 163,146 shares of the energy company’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,157 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Cheniere Energy worth $46,294,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Cheniere Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $731,774,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 555.0% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 810,138 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $157,483,000 after buying an additional 686,459 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 518.8% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 577,533 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $112,267,000 after buying an additional 484,198 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 2.0% during 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 during the period. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 3,902.4% during the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 389,676 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $75,749,000 after acquiring an additional 379,940 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:LNG opened at $241.71 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.65 billion and a P/E ratio of 39.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.57. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $243.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $233.22. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $186.20 and a 52-week high of $300.89.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The energy company reported ($16.65) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.25 by ($20.90). The firm had revenue of $5.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.69 billion. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 7.23% and a return on equity of 38.95%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.57 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 14.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a dividend of $0.555 per share. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is 36.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on LNG shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Cheniere Energy from $313.00 to $308.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $283.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group set a $290.00 price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $280.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $297.71.

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.