Weiss Asset Management LP Acquires Shares of 32,509 Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSEAMERICAN:LNG)

Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSEAMERICAN:LNG – Get Rating) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 32,509 shares of the energy company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,394,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 8.7% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,442,944 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $3,889,419,000 after acquiring an additional 1,869,480 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 15.0% during the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 20,678,479 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $3,430,767,000 after acquiring an additional 2,699,343 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 13.6% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,934,156 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $961,421,000 after acquiring an additional 830,898 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 17.7% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,030,116 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $536,126,000 after acquiring an additional 606,893 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 23.2% during the second quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,943,619 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $391,589,000 after acquiring an additional 553,552 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.25% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Cheniere Energy

In other Cheniere Energy news, Director Vicky A. Bailey sold 2,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.50, for a total value of $382,050.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 33,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,791,473. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Cheniere Energy Price Performance

Cheniere Energy stock opened at $143.87 on Friday. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $120.09 and a one year high of $182.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.77 billion, a PE ratio of -9.42 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $154.29.

Cheniere Energy (NYSEAMERICAN:LNG – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 23rd. The energy company reported $15.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.08 by $8.70. Cheniere Energy had a negative return on equity of 249.96% and a negative net margin of 12.40%. The company had revenue of $9.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($5.22) earnings per share. Cheniere Energy’s revenue was up 42.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post -7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 7th were given a dividend of $0.395 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 6th. This represents a $1.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -10.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays decreased their target price on Cheniere Energy from $200.00 to $192.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Cheniere Energy from $236.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Tuesday, November 22nd. Cowen reduced their price target on Cheniere Energy from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 20th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on Cheniere Energy from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 9th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $201.62.

Cheniere Energy Profile

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Cheniere Energy, Inc engages in liquefied natural gas (LNG) related businesses. It owns and operates LNG terminals, develops, constructs, and operates liquefaction projects near Corpus Christi, Texas, and at the Sabine Pass LNG terminal. The company was founded by Charif Souki in 1996 and is headquartered in Houston, TX.