HRT Financial LP Takes $58.01 Million Position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

HRT Financial LP purchased a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 238,227 shares of the energy company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,013,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its position in Cheniere Energy by 134.1% in the second quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 103 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 473.7% in the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 109 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cheniere Energy Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE LNG opened at $189.52 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $40.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.56, a PEG ratio of 5.02 and a beta of 0.26. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $213.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $227.83. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $188.70 and a 12-month high of $257.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last issued 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 company had revenue of $4.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.87 billion. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 21.12%.Cheniere Energy’s revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.93 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Cheniere Energy

In other Cheniere Energy news, Director W Benjamin Moreland bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $208.22 per share, with a total value of $1,041,100.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 9,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,052,216.32. This represents a 102.97% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on LNG. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $275.00 target price on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $290.00 price target on Cheniere Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $274.00 to $271.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $278.00 target price (up previously from $275.00) on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $268.47.

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.