SL Advisors LLC Grows Stock Position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

SL Advisors LLC grew its position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 3.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,209 shares of the energy company’s stock after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the quarter. Cheniere Energy makes up about 5.9% of SL Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. SL Advisors LLC’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $3,275,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of LNG. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 27.1% in the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 29,235 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $4,715,000 after purchasing an additional 6,235 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 187,236 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $30,198,000 after acquiring an additional 11,800 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 103.3% in the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 31,577 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $5,093,000 after purchasing an additional 16,044 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 215.7% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 62,551 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $10,936,000 after purchasing an additional 42,737 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the first quarter valued at about $818,000. 87.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on LNG. TD Cowen increased their price target on Cheniere Energy from $178.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Cheniere Energy in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $194.00 to $199.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $208.00 to $204.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $195.00.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LNG opened at $187.87 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63. The company has a market capitalization of $43.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.15 and a beta of 0.94. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $152.31 and a 12 month high of $191.05. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $181.70 and its 200 day moving average is $169.80.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The energy company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.12. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 39.42% and a net margin of 27.05%. The firm had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.04 billion. Research analysts predict that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 9.74 EPS for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 7th were given a dividend of $0.775 per share. This represents a $3.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.65%. This is an increase from Cheniere Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 7th. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.48%.

Cheniere Energy declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Monday, June 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the energy company to repurchase up to 9.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.