Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC Has $15.39 Million Position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC grew its position in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 6.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 65,484 shares of the energy company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,682 shares during the quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $15,387,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Cheniere Energy by 473.7% in the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 109 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new position in Cheniere Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the second quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the second quarter worth $34,000. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

LNG stock opened at $189.69 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $40.83 billion, a PE ratio of 10.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $208.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $226.24. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $186.20 and a 1-year high of $257.65.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The energy company reported $4.75 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $2.00. The company had revenue of $4.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.87 billion. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 21.12%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.93 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 7th were given a dividend of $0.555 per share. This is a positive change from Cheniere Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 7th. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is 12.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LNG. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $254.00 price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America decreased their price target on Cheniere Energy from $274.00 to $271.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $278.00 price objective (up from $275.00) on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Zacks Research cut Cheniere Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $268.00 to $273.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $267.53.

Insider Activity at Cheniere Energy

In related news, Director W Benjamin Moreland acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $208.22 per share, for a total transaction of $1,041,100.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 9,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,052,216.32. The trade was a 102.97% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is currently 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.