Franklin Resources Inc. Has $230.22 Million Stock Position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,219,615 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 178,858 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $230,219,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in LNG. MCF Advisors LLC bought a new position in Cheniere Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 5,000.0% during the second quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 153 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC bought a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of LNG stock opened at $213.06 on Friday. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $152.31 and a fifty-two week high of $228.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.07. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $203.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $185.26. The company has a market cap of $47.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.61 and a beta of 0.97.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $3.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $2.06. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 22.70% and a return on equity of 41.44%. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.37 EPS. Cheniere Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.94%. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LNG. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Cheniere Energy from $204.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group raised their target price on Cheniere Energy from $232.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Cheniere Energy from $202.00 to $242.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays raised their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $199.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Cheniere Energy from $201.00 to $217.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $216.56.

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.