Energy Income Partners LLC Buys 28,800 Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Energy Income Partners LLC increased its stake in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 423,656 shares of the energy company’s stock after purchasing an additional 28,800 shares during the quarter. Cheniere Energy accounts for 2.0% of Energy Income Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Energy Income Partners LLC owned about 0.19% of Cheniere Energy worth $103,169,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 134.1% during the 2nd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 103 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 473.7% in the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 109 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new stake in Cheniere Energy during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Cheniere Energy in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Cheniere Energy in the second quarter valued at about $34,000. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cheniere Energy Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of LNG stock opened at $189.52 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $188.70 and a one year high of $257.65. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $213.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $227.83. The company has a market capitalization of $40.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.56, a PEG ratio of 5.02 and a beta of 0.26.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The energy company reported $4.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.75 by $2.00. The business had revenue of $4.44 billion during 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%.Cheniere Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.93 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 18th. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th were given a dividend of $0.555 per share. This is an increase from Cheniere Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 7th. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.37%.

Insider Transactions at Cheniere Energy

In other Cheniere Energy news, Director W Benjamin Moreland purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $208.22 per share, with a total value of $1,041,100.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 9,856 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on LNG shares. Zacks Research downgraded Cheniere Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $261.00 to $257.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $275.00 target price on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Monday, November 3rd. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Friday, September 19th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $268.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $274.00 to $271.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cheniere Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $268.47.

About Cheniere Energy

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.