HighTower Advisors LLC Buys 2,949 Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 1.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 159,519 shares of the energy company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,949 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Cheniere Energy worth $28,670,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,438,428 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $978,047,000 after purchasing an additional 167,575 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 91.4% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,747,370 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $673,927,000 after buying an additional 1,789,919 shares in the last quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. boosted its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 9.2% in the second quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 3,242,899 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $566,956,000 after acquiring an additional 273,588 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Cheniere Energy by 7.4% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,921,837 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $510,825,000 after acquiring an additional 202,097 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in Cheniere Energy by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,060,622 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $360,259,000 after purchasing an additional 99,678 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE LNG opened at $226.15 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $50.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.44 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $152.31 and a 12 month high of $228.10. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $199.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $182.68.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $3.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $2.06. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 22.70% and a return on equity of 41.44%. The business had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.37 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 18th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on LNG shares. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $199.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $204.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America started coverage on Cheniere Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $215.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Cheniere Energy from $201.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $202.00 to $242.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $216.56.

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.