Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 1,468 Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lessened its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 31.9% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,137 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 1,468 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $549,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 7.4% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,921,837 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $510,825,000 after buying an additional 202,097 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $490,000. WealthTrust Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Cheniere Energy by 17.0% in the second quarter. WealthTrust Asset Management LLC now owns 7,902 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,382,000 after purchasing an additional 1,151 shares during the period. Bridges Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Cheniere Energy in the second quarter worth $1,594,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in 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 valued at $360,259,000 after buying an additional 99,678 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on LNG shares. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. TD Cowen lifted their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Cheniere Energy from $208.00 to $204.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $195.00.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

LNG stock opened at $187.87 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.01 billion, a PE ratio of 9.15 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $181.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $169.80. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $152.31 and a 12-month high of $191.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The energy company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.04 billion. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 39.42% and a net margin of 27.05%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 9.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 7th were given a dividend of $0.775 per share. This is an increase 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.65%. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 8.48%.

Cheniere Energy declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Monday, June 17th that permits the company to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the energy company to purchase up to 9.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Cheniere Energy 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.