Royal Bank of Canada Raises Stake in Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 25.7% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,395,267 shares of the energy company’s stock after buying an additional 488,994 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $554,265,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,937,749 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $4,844,995,000 after purchasing an additional 54,801 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 12.9% in the first 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 purchasing an additional 534,033 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 7.9% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,492,443 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $808,151,000 after purchasing an additional 255,140 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 12.7% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,185,605 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $737,149,000 after purchasing an additional 359,435 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 6.5% in the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,962,006 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $454,008,000 after purchasing an additional 120,018 shares during the period. 87.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Cheniere Energy

In related news, Director Neal A. Shear sold 4,300 shares of Cheniere Energy stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.93, for a total transaction of $1,057,499.00. Following the sale, the director owned 29,733 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,312,236.69. The trade was a 12.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Friday, August 8th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $258.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Cheniere Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $267.00 to $284.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $263.29.

Cheniere Energy Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of LNG stock opened at $241.64 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $53.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.11 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $175.14 and a fifty-two week high of $257.65. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $235.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $230.09.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The energy company reported $7.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.35 by $4.95. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 21.05% and a return on equity of 37.83%. The firm had revenue of $4.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.48 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.84 earnings per share. Cheniere Energy’s revenue was up 42.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 EPS for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 18th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is 11.68%.

Cheniere Energy 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.