West Family Investments Inc. Reduces Stake in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

West Family Investments Inc. cut its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Free Report) by 58.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,041 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 1,475 shares during the period. West Family Investments Inc.'s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $241,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LNG. REAP Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 150.0% during the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 125 shares of the energy company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Cooksen Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Cheniere Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC raised its stake in Cheniere Energy by 2,022.2% in the 4th quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 191 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Cheniere Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Cheniere Energy

In other Cheniere Energy news, Director Neal A. Shear sold 4,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.93, for a total transaction of $1,057,499.00. Following the transaction, the director directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Cheniere Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $288.00 price target on shares of Cheniere Energy and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Wolfe Research cut Cheniere Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $252.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $260.36.

Cheniere Energy Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of LNG stock traded up $1.70 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $233.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 873,217 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,841,771. The company has a market cap of $51.72 billion, a PE ratio of 17.03 and a beta of 0.42. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $235.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $228.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.19. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $167.66 and a 52 week high of $257.65.

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

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. Cheniere Energy's dividend 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.