Franklin Resources Inc. Trims Position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its holdings in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Free Report) by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,219,615 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 178,858 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.54% of Cheniere Energy worth $230,219,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,498 shares of the energy company's stock worth $269,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 1.5% in the third quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 4,204 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $756,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 0.9% in the third quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 7,514 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $1,351,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 57.6% in the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 186 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 7.6% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,057 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $190,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on LNG shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $201.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $202.00 to $242.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $199.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Bank of America started coverage on Cheniere Energy in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $215.00 price target for the company. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Cheniere Energy from $232.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $216.56.

Cheniere Energy Price Performance

NYSE LNG traded down $1.57 during trading on Friday, hitting $213.06. 1,202,902 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,761,548. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $203.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $185.26. The company has a market cap of $47.80 billion, a PE ratio of 13.61 and a beta of 0.97. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $152.31 and a fifty-two week high of $228.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $3.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.87 by $2.06. The business had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.76 billion. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 22.70% and a return on equity of 41.44%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.37 EPS. Research analysts expect that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.25 EPS for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Cheniere Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.77%.

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.