Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) Position Lowered by Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. reduced its position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 786,473 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 49,224 shares during the quarter. Cheniere Energy makes up about 1.8% of Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. owned approximately 0.34% of Cheniere Energy worth $137,499,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 0.7% in 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 acquiring an additional 151,311 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 8.5% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,270,853 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $921,503,000 after purchasing an additional 413,744 shares during the last quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. boosted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 9.2% in the second quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 3,242,899 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $566,956,000 after purchasing an additional 273,588 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Cheniere Energy by 7.4% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,921,837 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $510,825,000 after purchasing an additional 202,097 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 5.1% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,060,622 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $360,259,000 after purchasing an additional 99,678 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on LNG shares. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $178.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Barclays lifted their target price on Cheniere Energy from $194.00 to $199.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target 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. 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $196.25.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

Shares of LNG stock opened at $179.63 on Friday. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $152.31 and a 12-month high of $187.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.75 and a beta of 0.95. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $180.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $168.68.

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

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