Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) Stake Cut by BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lessened its holdings in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 11.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,667 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 1,613 shares during the quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $2,215,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Keene & Associates Inc. grew its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Keene & Associates Inc. now owns 1,798 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $290,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Signature Wealth Management Group grew its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 1.4% during the second quarter. Signature Wealth Management Group now owns 4,758 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $832,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 57.6% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 186 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. E&G Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. E&G Advisors LP now owns 1,420 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, Syon Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 1,618 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on LNG shares. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Cheniere Energy from $208.00 to $204.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $213.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $194.00 to $199.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. TD Cowen raised their price target 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. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Cheniere Energy in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Cheniere Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $196.40.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LNG opened at $185.26 on Monday. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $152.31 and a 1 year high of $187.44. The firm has a market cap of $42.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.02 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $178.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $165.34. 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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $2.13. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 39.42% and a net margin of 27.05%. The business had revenue of $3.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.61 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 19.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 9.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a $0.435 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.94%. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is currently 8.48%.

Cheniere Energy declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, June 17th that allows the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the energy company to reacquire up to 9.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.