Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG Shares Sold by ARS Investment Partners LLC

ARS Investment Partners LLC cut its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 17.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 95,158 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 19,571 shares during the period. Cheniere Energy comprises about 1.5% of ARS Investment Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. ARS Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $22,360,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cypress Wealth Services LLC increased its stake in Cheniere Energy by 7.6% during the third quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 2,765 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $650,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Munro Partners grew its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Munro Partners now owns 293,555 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $68,980,000 after buying an additional 17,260 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 4,230 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $994,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its stake in Cheniere Energy by 13.4% during the third quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 24,883 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $5,847,000 after acquiring an additional 2,946 shares during the period. Finally, Argent Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 1.3% in the third quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 15,697 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $3,688,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on LNG shares. Bank of America cut their target price on Cheniere Energy from $274.00 to $271.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $275.00 price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $290.00 price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Mizuho boosted 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. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Cheniere Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $267.53.

Insider Activity

In other Cheniere Energy news, Director W Benjamin Moreland purchased 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $208.22 per share, with a total value of $1,041,100.00. Following the transaction, 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy Stock Down 0.7%

NYSE:LNG opened at $190.45 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $206.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $225.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.61, a PEG ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $186.20 and a 1-year high of $257.65.

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

Cheniere Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. This is a positive change from Cheniere Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 7th. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.37%.

Cheniere Energy Company 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.