Pinnacle Associates Ltd. Trims Stock Position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lowered its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,688 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 435 shares during the quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd.’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $3,090,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Cooksen Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy Trading Up 0.3%

LNG stock opened at $212.13 on Friday. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $182.28 and a 1-year high of $257.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $46.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.38, a PEG ratio of 6.08 and a beta of 0.37. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $231.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $233.19.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The energy company reported $4.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $2.00. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 37.83% and a net margin of 21.05%.The business had revenue of $4.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.93 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th will be paid a $0.555 dividend. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 7th. This is a positive change from Cheniere Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $290.00 price objective on Cheniere Energy in a research note on Thursday. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $278.00 price objective (up from $275.00) on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $267.80.

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.