Hennessy Advisors Inc. Sells 13,500 Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. decreased its position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 8.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 147,347 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 13,500 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $31,660,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC bought a new position in Cheniere Energy in the 4th quarter worth $2,127,000. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,455,000. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 42.1% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 12,919 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $2,323,000 after purchasing an additional 3,828 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,324,360 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $238,173,000 after purchasing an additional 37,729 shares during the period. Finally, M&G PLC increased its position in Cheniere Energy by 21.0% in the 3rd quarter. M&G PLC now owns 268,834 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $48,390,000 after buying an additional 46,602 shares during the period. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cheniere Energy Stock Up 3.2 %

NYSE LNG opened at $253.76 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $217.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $194.37. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $152.31 and a one year high of $254.20. The firm has a market cap of $56.94 billion, a PE ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $3.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $2.06. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 41.44% and a net margin of 22.70%. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.37 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 12.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LNG. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $234.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Cheniere Energy from $202.00 to $242.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $232.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Scotiabank started coverage on Cheniere Energy in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $242.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $213.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $231.18.

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.