West Family Investments Inc. Increases Holdings in Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

West Family Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 138.6% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,484 shares of the energy company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,443 shares during the period. West Family Investments Inc.’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $605,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 134.1% during the second quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 103 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 473.7% during the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 109 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy Trading Up 1.7%

NYSE LNG opened at $209.24 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.21, a P/E/G ratio of 6.08 and a beta of 0.36. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $188.70 and a 52-week high of $257.65. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $219.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $229.91.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $2.00. The company had revenue of $4.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.87 billion. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 37.83% and a net margin of 21.05%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.93 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 EPS for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.555 per share. This is a boost from Cheniere Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 7th. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director W Benjamin Moreland bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director owned 9,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,052,216.32. This trade represents a 102.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $268.00 to $273.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Scotiabank cut their price target on Cheniere Energy from $261.00 to $257.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Erste Group Bank cut Cheniere Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $278.00 target price (up from $275.00) on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Friday, October 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $268.47.

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.