Values First Advisors Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Values First Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 26.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,794 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 1,023 shares during the period. Values First Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $477,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of LNG. Capital World Investors purchased a new stake in Cheniere Energy during the first quarter worth about $391,652,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $261,515,000. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 13.6% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,934,156 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $961,421,000 after buying an additional 830,898 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 73.0% during the third quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,496,100 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $248,293,000 after buying an additional 631,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,542,925 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $531,297,000 after buying an additional 576,067 shares in the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cheniere Energy Price Performance

Shares of LNG stock traded up $0.13 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $161.27. The stock had a trading volume of 1,902,953 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,959,402. The company has a market capitalization of $37.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.98, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.94. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $135.30 and a twelve month high of $183.46. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $162.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.59, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.51.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The energy company reported $5.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.70 by $3.06. The business had revenue of $4.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.37 billion. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 69.52% and a net margin of 48.45%. The company’s revenue was down 46.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $15.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 8.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 6th were issued a $0.435 dividend. This represents a $1.74 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 5th. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is currently 4.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on LNG. Barclays boosted their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $192.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. StockNews.com raised Cheniere Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $185.00 to $178.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $187.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 15th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $197.10.

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.