AGF Management Ltd. Grows Stock Holdings in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Key Points

• AGF Management Ltd. increased its stake in Cheniere Energy by 56.3%, owning 729,255 shares valued at approximately $168.75 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• A number of hedge funds, including Vanguard Group and Goldman Sachs, have also raised their positions in Cheniere Energy, with institutional investors now owning 87.26% of the stock.
• Cheniere Energy reported a quarterly earnings per share of $7.30, significantly exceeding analyst expectations and marking a 42.8% year-over-year revenue increase.

AGF Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Free Report) by 56.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 729,255 shares of the energy company's stock after buying an additional 262,812 shares during the period. Cheniere Energy comprises approximately 0.9% of AGF Management Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position. AGF Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.33% of Cheniere Energy worth $168,750,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Gouws Capital LLC lifted its position in Cheniere Energy by 3.3% during the first quarter. Gouws Capital LLC now owns 14,740 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $3,411,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Global Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Eagle Global Advisors LLC now owns 304,280 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $70,410,000 after buying an additional 14,335 shares in the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 5.3% during the first quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,675 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $388,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 33.8% in the first quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 2,560 shares of the energy company's stock worth $592,000 after buying an additional 646 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Linscomb Wealth Inc. boosted its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 0.7% during the first quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. now owns 22,727 shares of the energy company's stock worth $5,259,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on LNG. Jefferies Financial Group set a $288.00 price target on shares of Cheniere Energy and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Cheniere Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $258.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on Cheniere Energy from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cheniere Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $261.93.

Cheniere Energy Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of Cheniere Energy stock traded up $1.55 on Thursday, hitting $232.84. 1,067,234 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,125,676. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. The company has a market cap of $51.17 billion, a PE ratio of 13.59 and a beta of 0.43. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $235.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $228.79. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $175.14 and a 52 week high of $257.65.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The energy company reported $7.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.35 by $4.95. The firm had revenue of $4.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.48 billion. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 21.05% and a return on equity of 37.83%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 42.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.84 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 EPS for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. Cheniere Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 11.68%.

Insider Activity at Cheniere Energy

In related news, Director Neal A. Shear sold 4,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.93, for a total transaction of $1,057,499.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 29,733 shares in the company, valued at $7,312,236.69. The trade was a 12.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

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.