Intech Investment Management LLC Cuts Stake in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Intech Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 12.4% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 17,504 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 2,478 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $2,823,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 12.8% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 1,601,172 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $255,372,000 after acquiring an additional 181,886 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $70,682,000. Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC now owns 12,473 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $2,012,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $35,663,000. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 7,649 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,234,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares during the period. 87.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on LNG. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $162.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Cheniere Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $204.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $178.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $223.00 to $206.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Cheniere Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.09.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

NYSE LNG traded down $0.10 on Friday, hitting $181.93. 1,277,364 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,144,994. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $165.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.86 and a beta of 0.96. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $152.31 and a 52-week high of $184.62.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 3rd. The energy company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.17). The firm had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.97 billion. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 48.19% and a net margin of 28.55%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 41.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.89 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 8.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Monday, June 17th that allows the company to buyback $4.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the energy company to purchase up to 9.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be given a dividend of $0.435 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.74 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.48%.

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.