Creative Planning Acquires New Stake in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Creative Planning bought a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 5,611 shares of the energy company’s stock, valued at approximately $276,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LNG. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 37.4% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 615,067 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $30,624,000 after buying an additional 167,567 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,539 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $263,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 12,866 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $2,196,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $322,000. Finally, CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,371 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $544,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

Shares of LNG stock opened at $182.12 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $41.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.87 and a beta of 0.94. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $152.31 and a 1-year high of $193.16. 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $183.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $171.32.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The energy company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.04 billion. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 39.42% and a net margin of 27.05%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 9.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 7th were paid a $0.775 dividend. This represents a $3.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 7th. This is a positive change from Cheniere Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $199.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Cheniere Energy in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Bank of America started coverage on Cheniere Energy in a report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $215.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Cheniere Energy from $208.00 to $204.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Cheniere Energy from $201.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cheniere Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $200.00.

Cheniere Energy 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.