New Century Financial Group LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

New Century Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 8.5% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,832 shares of the energy company’s stock after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $295,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in Cheniere Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $852,000. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $1,283,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 28.9% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 198,555 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $33,895,000 after acquiring an additional 44,508 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,144,000. Finally, Rheos Capital Works Inc. purchased a new stake in Cheniere Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $8,894,000. 87.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cheniere Energy Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Cheniere Energy stock opened at $174.07 on Friday. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $148.57 and a 12-month high of $183.46. The company’s 50 day moving average is $160.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market cap of $39.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.48 and a beta of 0.96.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The energy company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.17). The firm had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.97 billion. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 28.55% and a return on equity of 48.19%. Cheniere Energy’s revenue was down 41.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $6.89 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 8.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.435 per share. This represents a $1.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on LNG shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Cheniere Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $223.00 to $206.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Cheniere Energy in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Cheniere Energy in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $162.00 price target on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $178.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cheniere Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $198.64.

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.