Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 1,185 Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 5.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,419 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 1,185 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $3,672,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MCF Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy during the second quarter worth $26,000. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC lifted its position in Cheniere Energy by 5,000.0% during the 2nd quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 153 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC acquired a new position in Cheniere Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Cheniere Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy in the second quarter worth about $30,000. 87.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LNG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $232.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Barclays increased their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $199.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Cheniere Energy from $234.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Cheniere Energy from $201.00 to $217.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $202.00 to $242.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $225.00.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LNG opened at $220.60 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $210.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $190.22. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $152.31 and a fifty-two week high of $228.10. The company has a market capitalization of $49.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.09 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $3.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $2.06. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 22.70% and a return on equity of 41.44%. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.76 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.37 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is 12.77%.

About Cheniere Energy

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.