Osaic Holdings Inc. Raises Stock Position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 6.2% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 65,480 shares of the energy company’s stock after buying an additional 3,831 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $15,946,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LNG. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $957,425,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new position in Cheniere Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $384,806,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its position in Cheniere Energy by 704.3% during the second quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 952,092 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $231,853,000 after acquiring an additional 833,723 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 33.1% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 2,031,767 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $470,151,000 after acquiring an additional 504,960 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Cheniere Energy by 25.7% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,395,267 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $554,265,000 after purchasing an additional 488,994 shares in the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

LNG opened at $189.63 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $209.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $226.61. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $186.20 and a 52-week high of $257.65. The company has a market cap of $40.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.56, a PEG ratio of 4.66 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The energy company reported $4.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $2.00. The firm had revenue of $4.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.87 billion. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 21.12% and a return on equity of 37.52%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.93 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 7th were given a $0.555 dividend. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is a boost from Cheniere Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 7th. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LNG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $278.00 target price (up from $275.00) on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Friday, October 24th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $254.00 price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Wednesday. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $261.00 to $257.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $275.00 target price on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on Cheniere Energy from $274.00 to $271.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $267.53.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director W Benjamin Moreland purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $208.22 per share, with a total value of $1,041,100.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 9,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,052,216.32. The trade was a 102.97% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Cheniere Energy Company Profile

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.