Renaissance Technologies LLC Lowers Position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Renaissance Technologies LLC decreased its position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 39.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 587,848 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 386,700 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 0.26% of Cheniere Energy worth $102,773,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in LNG. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 1,490.1% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,957,451 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $342,221,000 after acquiring an additional 1,834,347 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $308,910,000. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 231.8% in the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,338,752 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $215,914,000 after acquiring an additional 935,239 shares in the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 61.4% in the first quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 1,222,723 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $197,201,000 after acquiring an additional 465,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Cheniere Energy during the first quarter worth about $70,682,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

Shares of LNG opened at $182.72 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63. The stock has a market cap of $41.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.90 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a 50-day moving average of $180.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $167.15. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $152.31 and a 12-month high of $187.44.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The energy company reported $3.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $2.13. The company had revenue of $3.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.52 billion. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 27.05% and a return on equity of 39.42%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 19.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.61 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 9.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, June 17th that permits the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the energy company to reacquire up to 9.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $208.00 to $204.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Monday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $194.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $178.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Cheniere Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $196.25.

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.