Merit Financial Group LLC Grows Stock Position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Free Report) by 45.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,644 shares of the energy company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,142 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $783,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Cheniere Energy by 195.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,200,456 shares of the energy company's stock worth $755,410,000 after purchasing an additional 2,776,920 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 91.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,747,370 shares of the energy company's stock worth $673,927,000 after acquiring an additional 1,789,919 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 328.2% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 894,600 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $160,885,000 after purchasing an additional 685,662 shares during the period. Darlington Partners Capital Management LP lifted its position in Cheniere Energy by 74.6% during the second quarter. Darlington Partners Capital Management LP now owns 1,514,155 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $264,720,000 after buying an additional 647,096 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,270,853 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $921,503,000 after buying an additional 413,744 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.26% of the company's stock.

Cheniere Energy Stock Down 6.5 %

NYSE LNG traded down $16.16 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $233.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,848,337 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,314,068. The company has a market cap of $52.38 billion, a PE ratio of 14.91 and a beta of 0.99. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $152.31 and a fifty-two week high of $257.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $221.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $196.72.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $3.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $2.06. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 22.70% and a return on equity of 41.44%. The firm had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.37 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 12.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 18th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. Cheniere Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 12.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $201.00 to $217.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $242.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Cheniere Energy from $202.00 to $242.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays raised their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $202.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $232.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cheniere Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $231.64.

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.