Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG Stock Holdings Trimmed by Westwood Holdings Group Inc.

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. cut its stake in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 1.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 806,148 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 10,396 shares during the period. Cheniere Energy makes up about 1.5% of Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. owned approximately 0.37% of Cheniere Energy worth $196,313,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LNG. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 0.6% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,687,388 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,141,473,000 after buying an additional 26,843 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $957,425,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,874,796 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $940,578,000 after acquiring an additional 70,475 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 0.3% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 2,703,299 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $595,245,000 after purchasing an additional 7,297 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 25.7% in the first 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $275.00 target price on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Zacks Research lowered shares of Cheniere Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Cheniere Energy in a report on Friday, September 19th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $268.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America cut their target price on Cheniere Energy from $274.00 to $271.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on Cheniere Energy from $268.00 to $273.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. One equities research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $268.47.

Insider Activity

In other Cheniere Energy news, Director W Benjamin Moreland acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price 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 $2,052,216.32. This trade represents a 102.97% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE LNG opened at $189.52 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $40.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.56, a PEG ratio of 4.96 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $188.70 and a 52-week high of $257.65. The business’s 50 day moving average is $213.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $227.80.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The energy company reported $4.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.75 by $2.00. The business had revenue of $4.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.87 billion. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 21.12%.The company’s revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.93 earnings per share. Research analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th were paid a dividend of $0.555 per share. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. This is a boost from Cheniere Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 7th. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is currently 12.37%.

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.