Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Purchases Shares of 2,675 Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,675 shares of the energy company’s stock, valued at approximately $629,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 0.6% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,687,388 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,141,473,000 after buying an additional 26,843 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Cheniere Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $957,425,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,874,796 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $940,578,000 after acquiring an additional 70,475 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,990,748 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $484,787,000 after purchasing an additional 28,742 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,845,285 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $449,364,000 after purchasing an additional 8,740 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

Shares of LNG opened at $194.18 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.82, a P/E/G ratio of 6.24 and a beta of 0.26. 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 two-hundred day moving average price of $221.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.94.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The energy company reported $4.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.93 earnings per share. Cheniere Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group set a $290.00 price target on Cheniere Energy in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Bank of America dropped their target price 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. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Cheniere Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $254.00 price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Cheniere Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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 that occurred on Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost 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 $2,052,216.32. This represents a 102.97% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.