Brown Advisory Inc. Reduces Stake in Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Brown Advisory Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 6.9% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 69,681 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 5,157 shares during the quarter. Brown Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $16,969,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy in the second quarter worth $957,425,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new position in Cheniere Energy during the second quarter valued at $384,806,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Cheniere Energy in the first quarter valued at $294,793,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its position in Cheniere Energy by 704.3% during the 2nd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 952,092 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $231,853,000 after purchasing an additional 833,723 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in Cheniere Energy by 33.1% during 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 purchasing an additional 504,960 shares during the period. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Cheniere Energy

In other news, Director W Benjamin Moreland acquired 5,000 shares of Cheniere Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $208.22 per share, with a total value of $1,041,100.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 9,856 shares in the company, valued at $2,052,216.32. This trade represents a 102.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE LNG opened at $205.56 on Monday. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $188.70 and a 52-week high of $257.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $217.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $229.02. The firm has a market cap of $44.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.39 and a beta of 0.26.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The energy company reported $4.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $2.00. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 21.12%.The company had revenue of $4.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.93 EPS. Cheniere Energy’s revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LNG. Zacks Research cut Cheniere Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $275.00 price target on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $290.00 price objective on Cheniere Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Cheniere Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Friday, September 19th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $268.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $268.47.

Cheniere Energy Company 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.