Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG Shares Bought by Ascent Group LLC

Ascent Group LLC boosted its holdings in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 24.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,161 shares of the energy company’s stock after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $283,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new position in Cheniere Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $384,806,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the first quarter worth about $294,793,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 12.9% during the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,660,545 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,078,450,000 after purchasing an additional 534,033 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in Cheniere Energy by 33.1% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 2,031,767 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $470,151,000 after buying an additional 504,960 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in Cheniere Energy by 25.7% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,395,267 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $554,265,000 after buying an additional 488,994 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on LNG shares. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Cheniere Energy in a report on Friday, September 19th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $268.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $267.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $288.00 price target on shares of Cheniere Energy and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $258.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $263.60.

Cheniere Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LNG opened at $235.13 on Wednesday. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $180.62 and a 12 month high of $257.65. The stock has a market cap of $51.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.73 and a beta of 0.37. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $235.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $232.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The energy company reported $7.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $4.95. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 37.83% and a net margin of 21.05%.The firm had revenue of $4.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.48 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.84 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 42.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy 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.