Swiss National Bank Reduces Stock Position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Swiss National Bank decreased its position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 639,300 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 35,200 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.30% of Cheniere Energy worth $150,223,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raised its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 250.0% in the third quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 140 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 47.6% during the third quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 155 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Cheniere Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $274.00 to $271.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Erste Group Bank cut Cheniere Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Morgan Stanley set a $236.00 price objective on Cheniere Energy and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Cheniere Energy from $266.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $264.89.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:LNG opened at $250.68 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $52.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.32 and a beta of 0.25. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $214.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $216.93. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $186.20 and a fifty-two week high of $259.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The energy company reported $10.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.90 by $6.78. The company had revenue of $5.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.48 billion. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 26.68% and a return on equity of 32.04%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.33 EPS. Analysts expect that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 EPS for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th were issued a $0.555 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.14%.

Cheniere Energy announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 26th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the energy company to repurchase up to 21.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Cheniere Energy Profile

Cheniere Energy, Inc is a U.S.-based energy company that develops, owns and operates liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure and markets LNG to global customers. The company’s core activities include natural gas liquefaction, long‑term and short‑term LNG sales and marketing, and the associated midstream services required to move gas from production basins to international markets. Cheniere focuses on converting domestic natural gas into LNG for export, providing a bridge between North American supply and overseas demand.

Cheniere’s principal operating assets are large-scale LNG export terminals located on the U.S.