Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG Shares Sold by Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,009 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 169 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $2,194,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LNG. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Cheniere Energy by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,937,749 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $4,844,995,000 after buying an additional 54,801 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 534,033 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Cheniere Energy by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,492,443 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $808,151,000 after buying an additional 255,140 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Cheniere Energy by 12.7% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,185,605 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $737,149,000 after buying an additional 359,435 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi boosted its position in Cheniere Energy by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 2,703,299 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $595,245,000 after buying an additional 7,297 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LNG opened at $210.78 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $232.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $233.37. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $181.59 and a 12 month high of $257.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.30 and a beta of 0.37.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The energy company reported $7.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $4.48 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.84 EPS. Cheniere Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 42.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 18th. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.555 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 7th. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. This is an increase from Cheniere Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LNG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $262.00 price target (up previously from $253.00) on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $267.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Friday, September 19th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $268.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $267.67.

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.