Ameriprise Financial Inc. Purchases 73,650 Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Key Points

• Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Cheniere Energy, Inc. by 33.4% in Q1, owning 293,875 shares valued at $68 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Cheniere Energy reported a strong quarterly performance, with $7.30 earnings per share surpassing estimates, and revenue growth of 42.8% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $2.00 and a yield of 0.8%.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Free Report) by 33.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 293,875 shares of the energy company's stock after acquiring an additional 73,650 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of Cheniere Energy worth $68,034,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Integras Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy in the first quarter valued at about $2,856,000. CW Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Cheniere Energy during the first quarter worth about $479,000. Summit Financial LLC grew its stake in Cheniere Energy by 4.6% during the first quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 13,034 shares of the energy company's stock worth $3,016,000 after buying an additional 571 shares in the last quarter. Estate Counselors LLC grew its stake in Cheniere Energy by 1.3% during the first quarter. Estate Counselors LLC now owns 13,890 shares of the energy company's stock worth $3,214,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, United Asset Strategies Inc. grew its stake in Cheniere Energy by 4.0% during the first quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 27,606 shares of the energy company's stock worth $6,388,000 after buying an additional 1,069 shares in the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on LNG shares. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $262.00 price objective (up from $253.00) on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $267.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $258.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $268.00 to $273.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $288.00 price target on shares of Cheniere Energy and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $263.29.

Insider Transactions at Cheniere Energy

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

Cheniere Energy Price Performance

Shares of LNG traded down $0.50 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $241.64. The company had a trading volume of 1,655,524 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,730,234. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $235.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $230.09. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $175.14 and a 1-year high of $257.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company has a market capitalization of $53.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.11 and a beta of 0.43.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The energy company reported $7.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.35 by $4.95. The business had revenue of $4.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.48 billion. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 21.05% and a return on equity of 37.83%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 42.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.84 EPS. Analysts expect that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 EPS for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 18th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. Cheniere Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.68%.

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.