B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. Takes Position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 4,166 shares of the energy company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,014,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $335,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its position in Cheniere Energy by 2.8% in the first quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,441 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $565,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 4.7% in the first quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 15,275 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $3,535,000 after buying an additional 682 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy in the first quarter worth about $765,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 5.0% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,007 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $233,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Cheniere Energy

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

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

Shares of LNG opened at $188.71 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $40.62 billion, a PE ratio of 10.51, a PEG ratio of 4.64 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $212.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $227.46. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $186.70 and a 52 week high of $257.65.

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

Cheniere Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th were issued 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 yield of 1.2%. This is an increase from Cheniere Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LNG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Cheniere Energy in a research note on Friday, September 19th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $268.00 target price for the company. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $274.00 to $271.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $278.00 price target (up from $275.00) on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $275.00 target price on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $268.47.

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.