Meritage Portfolio Management Has $23.93 Million Stock Position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Meritage Portfolio Management raised its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 140,193 shares of the energy company’s stock after buying an additional 8,860 shares during the quarter. Cheniere Energy comprises approximately 1.6% of Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. Meritage Portfolio Management owned about 0.06% of Cheniere Energy worth $23,932,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LNG. CWM LLC boosted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 13.4% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,649 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $606,000 after buying an additional 432 shares during the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp boosted its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 47.9% during the 3rd quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 4,098 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $680,000 after acquiring an additional 1,327 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 133.3% during the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 350 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Garrison Bradford & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 121.0% in the third quarter. Garrison Bradford & Associates Inc. now owns 9,979 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,656,000 after purchasing an additional 5,464 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Blueprint LLC increased its position in Cheniere Energy by 4.7% in the third quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 25,647 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $4,256,000 after purchasing an additional 1,143 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:LNG traded down $0.15 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $159.21. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 685,244 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,877,216. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $135.30 and a 12 month high of $183.46. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $157.98. The stock has a market cap of $36.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.59.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The energy company reported $5.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.70 by $3.06. The company had revenue of $4.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.37 billion. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 69.52% and a net margin of 48.45%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 46.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $15.78 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 8.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a dividend of $0.435 per share. This represents a $1.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is 4.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LNG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $162.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com lowered Cheniere Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. TD Cowen cut their target price on Cheniere Energy from $185.00 to $178.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Cheniere Energy from $223.00 to $206.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $192.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cheniere Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $193.90.

Cheniere Energy Company 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.