Liontrust Investment Partners LLP Reduces Stock Holdings in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Liontrust Investment Partners LLP reduced its position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 9.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,408 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 1,912 shares during the quarter. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $3,218,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of LNG. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,529,191 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $3,845,958,000 after buying an additional 151,311 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 10.9% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,960,944 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $316,261,000 after acquiring an additional 192,934 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $308,910,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 181,886 shares during the period. Finally, BROOKFIELD Corp ON lifted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 30.4% during the 1st quarter. BROOKFIELD Corp ON now owns 1,593,308 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $256,969,000 after purchasing an additional 371,061 shares in the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

Cheniere Energy stock opened at $184.32 on Tuesday. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $152.31 and a fifty-two week high of $187.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market cap of $42.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.98 and a beta of 0.96. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $177.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $164.82.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The energy company reported $3.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $2.13. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 48.19% and a net margin of 28.55%. The business had revenue of $3.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.61 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 19.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 8.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were given a dividend of $0.435 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.74 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is currently 8.48%.

Cheniere Energy declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Monday, June 17th that allows the company to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the energy company to repurchase up to 9.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LNG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Cheniere Energy in a report on Monday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $208.00 to $204.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $178.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $213.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Cheniere Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $196.40.

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.