GAMMA Investing LLC Acquires 523 Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 76.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,205 shares of the energy company’s stock after buying an additional 523 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $217,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MCF Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Cheniere Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC raised its position in Cheniere Energy by 5,000.0% in the 2nd quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 153 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Cheniere Energy during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Cooksen Wealth LLC bought a new position in Cheniere Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LNG opened at $190.83 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $182.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $170.29. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $152.31 and a fifty-two week high of $193.16. The company has a market capitalization of $43.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.17 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

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

Cheniere Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 7th were issued a dividend of $0.775 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 7th. This is a positive change from Cheniere Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $3.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is currently 9.28%.

Cheniere Energy announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Monday, June 17th that allows the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the energy company to purchase up to 9.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.