Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Invests $73,000 in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 404 shares of the energy company’s stock, valued at approximately $73,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in Cheniere Energy by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,270,853 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $921,503,000 after purchasing an additional 413,744 shares in the last quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. raised its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 9.2% in the second quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 3,242,899 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $566,956,000 after buying an additional 273,588 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,921,837 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $510,825,000 after acquiring an additional 202,097 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 5.1% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,060,622 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $360,259,000 after buying an additional 99,678 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 13.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,980,767 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $346,268,000 after buying an additional 240,427 shares during the period. 87.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cheniere Energy Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of LNG opened at $214.11 on Wednesday. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $152.31 and a 52-week high of $217.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. The stock has a market cap of $48.04 billion, a PE ratio of 13.67 and a beta of 0.94. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $185.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $175.19.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $3.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $2.06. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.76 billion. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 22.70% and a return on equity of 41.44%. Cheniere Energy’s revenue was down 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.37 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 18th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LNG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $192.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Bank of America started coverage on Cheniere Energy in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $215.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Cheniere Energy from $208.00 to $204.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. 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 report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Cheniere Energy from $199.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.89.

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.