Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) Shares Purchased by HighPoint Advisor Group LLC

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC increased its position in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 11.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,905 shares of the energy company’s stock after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $929,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $629,197,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 84.6% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,651,500 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $354,858,000 after acquiring an additional 756,900 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 12.9% in the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,660,545 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,078,450,000 after acquiring an additional 534,033 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,237,303 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $695,599,000 after acquiring an additional 450,031 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 346.6% in the 1st quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 568,627 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $131,580,000 after acquiring an additional 441,296 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy Stock Down 1.6%

NYSE LNG opened at $222.87 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $235.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $229.20. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $167.66 and a 12 month high of $257.65. The company has a market capitalization of $49.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.30 and a beta of 0.42.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The energy company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by ($1.24). Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 18.37% and a return on equity of 32.62%. The firm had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on LNG. Jefferies Financial Group set a $288.00 price target on shares of Cheniere Energy and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $267.00 target price on shares of Cheniere Energy and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $252.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $255.00 to $247.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $260.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cheniere Energy news, Director Neal A. Shear sold 4,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.93, for a total value of $1,057,499.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 29,733 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,312,236.69. This represents a 12.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate 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.