Invesco Ltd. Sells 554,469 Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Invesco Ltd. decreased its position in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 15.9% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,937,974 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 554,469 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd.’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $715,455,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LNG. Altman Advisors Inc. raised its position in Cheniere Energy by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Altman Advisors Inc. now owns 10,206 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $2,409,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Hemington Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 14.0% during the 1st quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 390 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its position in Cheniere Energy by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,007 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $233,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Bailard Inc. increased its stake in Cheniere Energy by 0.7% in the second quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 6,663 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,623,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Titleist Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 1.5% during the second quarter. Titleist Asset Management LLC now owns 3,309 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $806,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. 87.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cheniere Energy Trading Down 0.6%

LNG opened at $208.13 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. The firm has a market cap of $44.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.59, a PEG ratio of 5.49 and a beta of 0.26. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $188.70 and a 12 month high of $257.65. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $218.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $229.38.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The energy company reported $4.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $2.00. The company had revenue of $4.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.87 billion. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 21.12%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Increases Dividend

The company 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. This is a boost from Cheniere Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 7th. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on LNG. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Friday, September 19th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $268.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research downgraded Cheniere Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $275.00 price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $278.00 price objective (up from $275.00) on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Friday, October 24th. One 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $268.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director W Benjamin Moreland bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $208.22 per share, for a total transaction of $1,041,100.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 9,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,052,216.32. The trade was a 102.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.