Ausbil Investment Management Ltd Buys 780 Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Ausbil Investment Management Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 38,809 shares of the energy company’s stock after acquiring an additional 780 shares during the period. Cheniere Energy accounts for about 2.0% of Ausbil Investment Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $6,979,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 27.1% during the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 29,235 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $4,715,000 after buying an additional 6,235 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 187,236 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $30,198,000 after acquiring an additional 11,800 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 103.3% in the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 31,577 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $5,093,000 after acquiring an additional 16,044 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 215.7% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 62,551 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $10,936,000 after acquiring an additional 42,737 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Cheniere Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $818,000. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LNG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $215.00 price target on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on Cheniere Energy from $199.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $201.00 to $217.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Cheniere Energy from $208.00 to $204.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.00.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

Cheniere Energy stock traded up $4.22 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $187.08. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 561,396 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,747,769. The company has a market capitalization of $42.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.91 and a beta of 0.94. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $183.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $171.95. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $152.31 and a 12-month high of $193.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.02.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The energy company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 27.05% and a return on equity of 39.42%. Sell-side analysts predict that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 9.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 7th were issued a dividend of $0.775 per share. This is an increase from Cheniere Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $3.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 7th. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is currently 8.48%.

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.