Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC Increases Stock Position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC grew its holdings in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 187.0% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 6,600 shares of the energy company’s stock after buying an additional 4,300 shares during the period. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $1,607,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy in the fourth quarter worth $335,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 9.9% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 379,097 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $87,723,000 after acquiring an additional 34,003 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its position in Cheniere Energy by 62.4% during the 1st quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 2,721 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $630,000 after purchasing an additional 1,045 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its stake in Cheniere Energy by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 74,838 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $17,317,000 after purchasing an additional 2,844 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lifted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 6,808 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,576,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cheniere Energy Price Performance

LNG opened at $207.83 on Friday. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $188.70 and a 52-week high of $257.65. The company has a 50 day moving average of $227.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $232.43. The company has a market cap of $44.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.13, a P/E/G ratio of 6.08 and a beta of 0.36. 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 (NYSE:LNG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The energy company reported $4.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $2.00. The firm had revenue of $4.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.87 billion. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 37.83% and a net margin of 21.05%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.93 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Increases Dividend

The company 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. This is a positive change from Cheniere Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 7th. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is presently 12.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cheniere Energy news, Director W Benjamin Moreland bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $208.22 per share, for a total transaction of $1,041,100.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 9,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,052,216.32. The trade was a 102.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on LNG. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Cheniere Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. 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 report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cheniere Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $268.73.

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.