Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) Shares Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lessened its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 21.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 554,510 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 154,899 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $128,257,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. REAP Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Cheniere Energy by 150.0% during the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 125 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new stake in Cheniere Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Cooksen Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Cheniere Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Cheniere Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Tsfg LLC raised its stake in Cheniere Energy by 676.0% during the 1st quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 194 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:LNG opened at $229.99 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.54 billion, a PE ratio of 13.43 and a beta of 0.43. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $175.14 and a 1 year high of $257.65. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $235.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $228.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The energy company reported $7.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.35 by $4.95. The firm had revenue of $4.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.48 billion. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 21.05% and a return on equity of 37.83%. Cheniere Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 42.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.84 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 11.68%.

Insider Transactions at Cheniere Energy

In other Cheniere Energy news, Director Neal A. Shear sold 4,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.93, for a total transaction of $1,057,499.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 29,733 shares in the company, valued at $7,312,236.69. This represents a 12.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LNG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $267.00 to $284.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $255.00 to $247.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $258.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Cheniere Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cheniere Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $261.93.

Cheniere Energy Company Profile

Cheniere Energy, Inc, an energy infrastructure company, primarily engages in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) related businesses in the United States. It owns and operates the Sabine Pass LNG terminal in Cameron Parish, Louisiana; and the Corpus Christi LNG terminal near Corpus Christi, Texas. The company also owns Creole Trail pipeline, a 94-mile natural gas supply pipeline that interconnects the Sabine Pass LNG Terminal with several interstate and intrastate pipelines; and operates Corpus Christi pipeline, a 21.5-mile natural gas supply pipeline that interconnects the Corpus Christi LNG terminal with various interstate and intrastate natural gas pipelines.