Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc. increased its stake in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 32.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,600 shares of the energy company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,300 shares during the quarter. Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc.’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $4,136,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LNG. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 134.1% during the 2nd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 103 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in Cheniere Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Cheniere Energy by 473.7% during the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 109 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 87.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on LNG. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $254.00 price target on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $278.00 target price (up previously from $275.00) on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $290.00 target price on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $275.00 price target on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Cheniere Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cheniere Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $267.53.

Cheniere Energy Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of LNG stock opened at $194.44 on Wednesday. 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 twelve month low of $186.20 and a twelve month high of $257.65. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $201.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $222.40. The stock has a market cap of $41.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.83, a PEG ratio of 6.38 and a beta of 0.26.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $4.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.87 billion. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 21.12% and a return on equity of 37.52%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.93 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict 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 was paid on Tuesday, November 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 7th were issued a dividend of $0.555 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 7th. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. This is a boost from Cheniere Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.