Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Takes Position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 5,500 shares of the energy company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,209,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $335,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 87.5% in the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,423 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $346,000 after buying an additional 664 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 23.8% in the second quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 8,183 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,993,000 after acquiring an additional 1,574 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Cheniere Energy by 30.8% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,935 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $471,000 after acquiring an additional 456 shares during the period. Finally, Chapin Davis Inc. purchased a new stake in Cheniere Energy during the second quarter valued at about $256,000. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Cheniere Energy

In other Cheniere Energy news, Director W Benjamin Moreland purchased 5,000 shares of Cheniere Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $208.22 per share, with a total value of $1,041,100.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 9,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,052,216.32. This trade represents a 102.97% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on LNG shares. Zacks Research downgraded Cheniere Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $290.00 price target on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $283.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $284.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $266.00 target price on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cheniere Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $265.59.

Cheniere Energy Trading Down 1.8%

NYSE LNG opened at $202.93 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $43.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.31, a PEG ratio of 6.64 and a beta of 0.26. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $199.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $219.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $186.20 and a 52 week high of $254.53.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The energy company reported $4.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.75 by $2.00. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 21.12% and a return on equity of 37.52%. The business had revenue of $4.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.87 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.93 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 7th were given a dividend of $0.555 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 7th. This is a positive change from Cheniere Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.37%.

Cheniere Energy Company Profile

Cheniere Energy, Inc is a U.S.-based energy company that develops, owns and operates liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure and markets LNG to global customers. The company’s core activities include natural gas liquefaction, long‑term and short‑term LNG sales and marketing, and the associated midstream services required to move gas from production basins to international markets. Cheniere focuses on converting domestic natural gas into LNG for export, providing a bridge between North American supply and overseas demand.

Cheniere’s principal operating assets are large-scale LNG export terminals located on the U.S.