Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Purchases 1,359 Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Key Points

• Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in Cheniere Energy by 13.1%, owning a total of 11,765 shares valued at $2.72 million after purchasing 1,359 shares in the first quarter.
• Cheniere Energy reported a quarterly EPS of $1.57, missing analyst estimates, but had a revenue of $5.44 billion, beating expectations and showing a year-over-year increase of 28%.
• The company will pay a quarterly dividend of $0.50 on August 18th, representing an annualized yield of 0.85%, with a payout ratio currently at 14.63%.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Free Report) by 13.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,765 shares of the energy company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,359 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $2,722,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 1,494,901 shares of the energy company's stock worth $345,920,000 after acquiring an additional 105,875 shares during the period. Fractal Investments LLC lifted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 27.7% during the first quarter. Fractal Investments LLC now owns 75,585 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $17,490,000 after purchasing an additional 16,385 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 7.5% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 23,505 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $5,439,000 after purchasing an additional 1,630 shares during the last quarter. Martin Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 615.4% during the fourth quarter. Martin Investment Management LLC now owns 28,223 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $6,064,000 after purchasing an additional 24,278 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 37,378 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $8,032,000 after purchasing an additional 1,359 shares during the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on LNG. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $258.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Cheniere Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $267.00 price target on shares of Cheniere Energy and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered shares of Cheniere Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $260.36.

Cheniere Energy Stock Up 1.1%

Cheniere Energy stock traded up $2.51 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $238.39. The company had a trading volume of 2,022,265 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,986,933. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.44 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The firm's fifty day moving average is $235.42 and its 200-day moving average is $229.34. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $167.66 and a fifty-two week high of $257.65.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The energy company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.81 by ($1.24). The business had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 32.62% and a net margin of 18.37%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.13 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Cheniere Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cheniere Energy

In other news, Director Neal A. Shear sold 4,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.93, for a total transaction of $1,057,499.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 29,733 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

Cheniere Energy Company 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.