Cerity Partners LLC Sells 3,000 Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Cerity Partners LLC reduced its position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 2.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 107,007 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 3,000 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $25,144,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LNG. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its position in Cheniere Energy by 134.1% during the second quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 103 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the third quarter worth $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 473.7% during the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 109 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy Trading Down 1.2%

Cheniere Energy stock opened at $194.18 on Friday. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $186.20 and a 52 week high of $257.65. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $201.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $221.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The company has a market capitalization of $41.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.31 and a beta of 0.26.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $2.00. The business had revenue of $4.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.87 billion. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 21.12% and a return on equity of 37.52%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.93 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 EPS for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LNG. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $278.00 price objective (up previously from $275.00) on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Friday, October 24th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Cheniere Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $261.00 to $257.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Bank of America cut 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 note on Thursday, December 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $267.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director W Benjamin Moreland acquired 5,000 shares of Cheniere Energy stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $208.22 per share, for a total transaction of $1,041,100.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 9,856 shares of the company’s stock, 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 SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy Profile

Cheniere Energy, Inc is a U.S.-based energy company that develops, owns and operates liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure and markets LNG to global customers. The company’s core activities include natural gas liquefaction, long‑term and short‑term LNG sales and marketing, and the associated midstream services required to move gas from production basins to international markets. Cheniere focuses on converting domestic natural gas into LNG for export, providing a bridge between North American supply and overseas demand.

Cheniere’s principal operating assets are large-scale LNG export terminals located on the U.S.