Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG Shares Bought by Covea Finance

Covea Finance grew its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 17.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 111,300 shares of the energy company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,800 shares during the period. Covea Finance’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $26,153,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its stake in Cheniere Energy by 134.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its position 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 valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

Shares of LNG opened at $190.45 on Friday. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $186.20 and a 1 year high of $257.65. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $206.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $224.77. The company has a market capitalization of $40.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.61, a PEG ratio of 4.66 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 (NYSE:LNG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The energy company reported $4.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $2.00. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 21.12%.The company had revenue of $4.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.93 EPS. Cheniere Energy’s revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 EPS for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th were paid a $0.555 dividend. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. 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. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 12.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on LNG. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $268.00 to $273.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $254.00 price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $275.00 price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded Cheniere Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cheniere Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $267.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director W Benjamin Moreland acquired 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $208.22 per share, for a total transaction of $1,041,100.00. Following the acquisition, 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.