Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG Shares Sold by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC reduced its stake in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 47,188 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 5,700 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $11,088,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its position in Cheniere Energy by 134.1% in the second quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 103 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 473.7% in the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 109 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy in the second quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the second quarter worth $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cheniere Energy news, Director W Benjamin Moreland bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $208.22 per share, with a total value of $1,041,100.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 9,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,052,216.32. This trade represents a 102.97% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in 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 reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $278.00 target price (up from $275.00) on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Friday, October 24th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Cheniere Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Bank of America dropped their price objective 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $290.00 target price on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Thursday, October 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cheniere Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $267.53.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

NYSE LNG opened at $194.18 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $201.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $221.53. The company has a market cap of $41.79 billion, a PE ratio of 10.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.24 and a beta of 0.26. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The energy company reported $4.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.75 by $2.00. The business had revenue of $4.44 billion during 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 18th. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th were paid 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 1.1%. This is a boost from Cheniere Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. 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.