Prudential Financial Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Prudential Financial Inc. trimmed its stake in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 63.2% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 64,467 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 110,805 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $15,699,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LNG. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 12.5% in the 2nd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,885 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $703,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Titleist Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 1.5% during the second quarter. Titleist Asset Management LLC now owns 3,309 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $806,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Cynosure Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 11.4% in the second quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 1,721 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $419,000 after buying an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 2.5% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,082,872 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $263,701,000 after buying an additional 26,806 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covalis Capital LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $6,624,000. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cheniere Energy Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of Cheniere Energy stock opened at $205.86 on Thursday. 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 52-week low of $188.70 and a 52-week high of $257.65. The company has a market capitalization of $44.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.02, a P/E/G ratio of 6.08 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a 50 day moving average of $220.83 and a 200 day moving average of $230.25.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The energy company reported $4.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.75 by $2.00. The company had revenue of $4.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.87 billion. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 21.05% and a return on equity of 37.83%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.93 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 7th were given a dividend of $0.555 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 7th. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. This is an increase from Cheniere Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is currently 12.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on LNG. Zacks Research cut Cheniere Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $267.00 to $284.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $290.00 price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $268.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cheniere Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $268.47.

Insider Activity

In other Cheniere Energy news, Director W Benjamin Moreland acquired 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $208.22 per share, for a total transaction of $1,041,100.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 9,856 shares in the company, valued at $2,052,216.32. The trade was a 102.97% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed 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.