ING Groep NV Acquires 23,900 Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

ING Groep NV grew its holdings in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Free Report) by 31.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 99,200 shares of the energy company's stock after purchasing an additional 23,900 shares during the period. ING Groep NV's holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $17,840,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy in the first quarter valued at $26,000. MCF Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy during the second quarter worth $26,000. Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy during the second quarter worth $27,000. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 5,000.0% during the second quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 153 shares of the energy company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy during the third quarter worth $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $208.00 to $204.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $215.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $232.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price 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. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $192.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $208.44.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LNG traded up $1.52 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $212.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,598,964 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,783,304. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.46 and a beta of 0.94. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $187.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $176.06. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $152.31 and a fifty-two week high of $217.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $3.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $2.06. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 41.44% and a net margin of 22.70%. The firm's revenue was down 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.37 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 18th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. Cheniere Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.77%.

About Cheniere Energy

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.