Empowered Funds LLC Sells 4,920 Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Empowered Funds LLC decreased its position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 13.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 31,651 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 4,920 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $7,565,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of LNG. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $335,000. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in Cheniere Energy by 13.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 8,825 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $2,149,000 after buying an additional 1,035 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Cheniere Energy by 23.1% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 183,153 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $44,600,000 after buying an additional 34,422 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 103,040 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $25,092,000 after acquiring an additional 805 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC lifted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 87.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 36,502 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $8,889,000 after acquiring an additional 16,977 shares in the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LNG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Cheniere Energy from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Cheniere Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $310.00 target price on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Argus set a $330.00 target price on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cheniere Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $304.35.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LNG opened at $282.36 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $260.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $253.45. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $186.20 and a 52 week high of $300.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.32 billion, a PE ratio of 21.02 and a beta of -0.01.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The energy company reported $3.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.11 by ($0.09). Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 29.80% and a net margin of 13.57%.The company had revenue of $5.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.92 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $7.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 16.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 18th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th were issued a dividend of $0.555 per share. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is presently 16.53%.

Cheniere Energy Profile

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.