Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG Shares Purchased by Bailard Inc.

Bailard Inc. increased its position in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 187.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,163 shares of the energy company’s stock after buying an additional 12,500 shares during the period. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $4,503,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LNG. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 473.7% in the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 109 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new stake in Cheniere Energy in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Cheniere Energy during the second quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Cheniere Energy during the second quarter valued at $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cheniere Energy

In related news, Director W Benjamin Moreland purchased 5,000 shares of Cheniere Energy stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 9,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,052,216.32. The trade was a 102.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LNG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $283.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Erste Group Bank cut Cheniere Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $274.00 to $271.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Barclays reduced their target price on Cheniere Energy from $262.00 to $259.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Cheniere Energy from $284.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $265.59.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

Cheniere Energy stock opened at $207.18 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $199.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $219.51. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $186.20 and a 1-year high of $246.42. 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 has a market cap of $44.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.54 and a beta of 0.26.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The energy company reported $4.75 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.93 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 EPS for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th were paid a dividend of $0.555 per share. 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 7th. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is 12.37%.

About Cheniere Energy

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.