Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG Shares Acquired by Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. lifted its stake in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 109.7% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 70,340 shares of the energy company’s stock after acquiring an additional 36,791 shares during the quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $19,960,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. James Investment Research Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 3.9% during the first quarter. James Investment Research Inc. now owns 9,429 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $2,676,000 after buying an additional 351 shares during the period. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. USS Investment Management Ltd raised its stake in Cheniere Energy by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd now owns 38,086 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $10,804,000 after acquiring an additional 3,432 shares in the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd raised its stake in Cheniere Energy by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 57,134 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $16,212,000 after acquiring an additional 745 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Walker Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Cheniere Energy by 5.3% in the first quarter. Walker Asset Management LLC now owns 4,984 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,414,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cheniere Energy Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of Cheniere Energy stock opened at $243.38 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $51.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.03 and a beta of -0.01. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $186.20 and a 52-week high of $300.89. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $242.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $234.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The energy company reported ($16.65) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.25 by ($20.90). The firm had revenue of $5.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.69 billion. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 7.23% and a return on equity of 38.95%. Cheniere Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.57 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 14.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $0.555 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is 36.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on LNG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Benchmark reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Cheniere Energy from $265.00 to $306.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, UBS Group set a $290.00 price target on Cheniere Energy in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Two equities research analysts have 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.com, Cheniere Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $297.71.

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.