Sigma Planning Corp Cuts Position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Sigma Planning Corp trimmed its stake in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 20.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,934 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 771 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $714,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in LNG. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new position in Cheniere Energy in the second quarter valued at about $384,806,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $294,793,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 33.1% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 2,031,767 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $470,151,000 after buying an additional 504,960 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 25.7% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,395,267 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $554,265,000 after acquiring an additional 488,994 shares in the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

Shares of LNG stock opened at $207.83 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $227.67 and a 200 day moving average of $232.43. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $188.70 and a 1 year 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 $44.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.08 and a beta of 0.36.

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

Cheniere Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 18th. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th will be issued a $0.555 dividend. This is a boost from Cheniere Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 7th. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.37%.

Insider Transactions at Cheniere Energy

In other Cheniere Energy news, Director W Benjamin Moreland acquired 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $208.22 per share, for a total transaction of $1,041,100.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 9,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,052,216.32. The trade was a 102.97% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on LNG shares. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $268.00 to $273.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $262.00 price objective (up previously from $253.00) on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Cheniere Energy from $267.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $278.00 target price (up from $275.00) on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Friday, October 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $268.73.

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.