Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Lowers Stock Position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management S.A. reduced its stake in Cheniere Energy, Inc. by 24.5% in the second quarter, now holding approximately 0.08% of the company valued at $45.9 million.
• Cheniere Energy reported earnings of $7.30 per share for the last quarter, significantly exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.35 and marking a 42.8% year-over-year revenue increase.
• Several investment firms have upgraded their ratings and price targets for Cheniere Energy, with TD Cowen raising their target from $265.00 to $270.00 and Wells Fargo increasing theirs from $267.00 to $284.00.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. trimmed its position in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Free Report) by 24.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 188,498 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 61,075 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.08% of Cheniere Energy worth $45,903,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Cheniere Energy by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,937,749 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $4,844,995,000 after buying an additional 54,801 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 12.9% in the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,660,545 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $1,078,450,000 after purchasing an additional 534,033 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,492,443 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $808,151,000 after buying an additional 255,140 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 12.7% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,185,605 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $737,149,000 after buying an additional 359,435 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 2,703,299 shares of the energy company's stock worth $595,245,000 after purchasing an additional 7,297 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.26% of the company's stock.

Cheniere Energy Price Performance

NYSE LNG traded up $4.99 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $235.79. 784,848 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,044,886. The company has a market capitalization of $51.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.76 and a beta of 0.43. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $177.56 and a 12-month high of $257.65. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $234.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $231.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 37.83% and a net margin of 21.05%.The business had revenue of $4.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.48 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.84 EPS. The business's revenue was up 42.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LNG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $262.00 price objective (up previously from $253.00) on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Friday. They set an "outperform" rating and a $268.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group set a $288.00 target price on Cheniere Energy and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $258.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $263.60.

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.