USA Financial Formulas Takes $830,000 Position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,585 shares of the energy company's stock, valued at approximately $830,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LNG. Leavell Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,514 shares of the energy company's stock worth $4,193,000 after buying an additional 1,800 shares during the period. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 46.3% in the 4th quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 9,345 shares of the energy company's stock worth $2,008,000 after acquiring an additional 2,957 shares in the last quarter. Martin Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Cheniere Energy by 615.4% during the 4th quarter. Martin Investment Management LLC now owns 28,223 shares of the energy company's stock worth $6,064,000 after acquiring an additional 24,278 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in Cheniere Energy by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 37,378 shares of the energy company's stock worth $8,032,000 after acquiring an additional 1,359 shares during the period. Finally, LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 27.0% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 293,201 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $63,000,000 after purchasing an additional 62,338 shares in the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Neal A. Shear sold 4,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.93, for a total value of $1,057,499.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 29,733 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,312,236.69. This trade represents a 12.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $277.00 price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Raymond James reissued a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $248.00 to $254.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded Cheniere Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $252.23.

Cheniere Energy Price Performance

NYSE LNG traded up $2.95 during trading on Friday, hitting $237.99. 1,482,102 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,896,122. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $154.82 and a 12-month high of $257.65. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $230.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $225.12. The company has a market capitalization of $52.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.72 and a beta of 0.43.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The energy company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.81 by ($1.24). Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 20.71% and a return on equity of 37.19%. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.73 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.13 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 EPS for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. Cheniere Energy's payout ratio is currently 14.63%.

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.