Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG Shares Sold by Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc.

Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. decreased its holdings in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 18.6% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 12,876 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 2,937 shares during the period. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc.’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $3,026,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in Cheniere Energy by 718.1% during the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,669 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $406,000 after buying an additional 1,465 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 39,440 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $9,604,000 after acquiring an additional 1,273 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 109,285 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $26,360,000 after acquiring an additional 4,083 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 9.5% during the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 97,267 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $23,686,000 after purchasing an additional 8,449 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 10.4% in the second quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 420,068 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $102,295,000 after purchasing an additional 39,467 shares during the period. 87.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Cheniere Energy

In other news, Director W Benjamin Moreland purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $2,052,216.32. This trade represents a 102.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy Trading Up 1.6%

NYSE:LNG opened at $197.45 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $42.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.00, a PEG ratio of 6.24 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.94. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $186.20 and a 1 year high of $257.65. The business has a fifty day moving average of $202.85 and a 200-day moving average of $223.11.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The energy company reported $4.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $2.00. The business had revenue of $4.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.87 billion. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 21.12% and a return on equity of 37.52%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.93 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 7th. This is a positive change from Cheniere Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on LNG shares. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $254.00 target price on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $278.00 price objective (up previously from $275.00) on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on Cheniere Energy from $261.00 to $257.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Erste Group Bank cut Cheniere Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Cheniere Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $267.53.

About Cheniere Energy

Cheniere Energy, Inc is a U.S.-based energy company that develops, owns and operates liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure and markets LNG to global customers. The company’s core activities include natural gas liquefaction, long‑term and short‑term LNG sales and marketing, and the associated midstream services required to move gas from production basins to international markets. Cheniere focuses on converting domestic natural gas into LNG for export, providing a bridge between North American supply and overseas demand.

Cheniere’s principal operating assets are large-scale LNG export terminals located on the U.S.