Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 5,453 Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 20.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,604 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 5,453 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $3,777,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LNG. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in Cheniere Energy in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new stake in Cheniere Energy in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Cooksen Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Cheniere Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 57.6% during the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 186 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LNG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen raised their target price 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. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $194.00 to $199.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $213.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Cheniere Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $196.00.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

Shares of LNG stock opened at $177.62 on Wednesday. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $152.31 and a one year high of $187.44. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $180.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $166.45. The firm has a market cap of $40.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.65 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.02.

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

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were given a $0.435 dividend. This represents a $1.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.48%.

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

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.