Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) is Maple Brown Abbott Ltd’s 10th Largest Position

Maple Brown Abbott Ltd trimmed its position in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 277,510 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 42,010 shares during the quarter. Cheniere Energy makes up approximately 5.0% of Maple Brown Abbott Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Maple Brown Abbott Ltd owned about 0.12% of Cheniere Energy worth $49,907,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LNG. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 156.3% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 305 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 49.3% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 3,299 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $563,000 after buying an additional 1,089 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Cheniere Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $163,000. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 24,714 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $4,086,000 after buying an additional 2,119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Syon Capital LLC grew its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 1,618 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $276,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cheniere Energy Price Performance

LNG opened at $184.55 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $181.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $169.16. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $152.31 and a 12-month high of $187.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63. The firm has a market cap of $42.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.99 and a beta of 0.95.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The energy company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.12. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 39.42% and a net margin of 27.05%. The firm had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 9.74 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Cheniere Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 7th were paid a dividend of $0.775 per share. This is a positive change from Cheniere Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 7th. This represents a $3.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on LNG. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Cheniere Energy from $208.00 to $204.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Cheniere Energy from $178.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Cheniere Energy in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Cheniere Energy from $194.00 to $199.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $196.25.

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.