Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) Short Interest Update

Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) saw a significant decline in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 636,600 shares, a decline of 8.8% from the August 31st total of 698,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 139,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.6 days. Approximately 0.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Cheniere Energy Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:LNG traded up $1.47 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $181.31. 1,279,701 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,795,227. Cheniere Energy has a fifty-two week low of $152.31 and a fifty-two week high of $187.44. The stock has a market cap of $41.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.83 and a beta of 0.95. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $180.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $168.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The energy company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.12. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 27.05% and a return on equity of 39.42%. The business had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.04 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Cheniere Energy will post 9.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, June 17th that permits the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the energy company to repurchase up to 9.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Cheniere Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 7th were paid a $0.775 dividend. This is a positive change from Cheniere Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 7th. This represents a $3.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.71%. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.48%.

Institutional Trading of Cheniere Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MCF Advisors LLC bought a new position in Cheniere Energy in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new stake in Cheniere Energy during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC raised its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 5,000.0% during the 2nd quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 153 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Cooksen Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Cheniere Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

About Cheniere Energy

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.