Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Takes Position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 6,195 shares of the energy company's stock, valued at approximately $1,433,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. REAP Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 150.0% in the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 125 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new stake in Cheniere Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Cooksen Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Cheniere Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Tsfg LLC lifted its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 676.0% during the first quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 194 shares of the energy company's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is 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 shares were sold at an average price of $245.93, for a total transaction of $1,057,499.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. 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. Wolfe Research cut Cheniere Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $288.00 price target on Cheniere Energy and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Cheniere Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $260.36.

Cheniere Energy Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:LNG opened at $238.39 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $52.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.44 and a beta of 0.43. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $167.66 and a 12 month high of $257.65. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $235.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $229.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24.

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

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

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

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.

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