Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Raises Stock Position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Cheniere Energy, Inc. by 7.8% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 76,365 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 1,056,066 shares valued at $244.37 million.
• Several institutional investors have also increased their holdings in Cheniere Energy, with Tsfg LLC raising its stake by an impressive 676% in the same quarter.
• Cheniere Energy reported a significant earnings beat with an EPS of $7.30 for the recent quarter, outperforming analysts’ expectations of $2.35, which marks a 42.8% increase in revenue compared to the previous year.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Free Report) by 7.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,056,066 shares of the energy company's stock after acquiring an additional 76,365 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.47% of Cheniere Energy worth $244,374,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LNG. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 7.6% in the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 1,494,901 shares of the energy company's stock worth $345,920,000 after buying an additional 105,875 shares during the last quarter. Fractal Investments LLC lifted its position in Cheniere Energy by 27.7% during the first quarter. Fractal Investments LLC now owns 75,585 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $17,490,000 after purchasing an additional 16,385 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its position in Cheniere Energy by 7.5% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 23,505 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $5,439,000 after purchasing an additional 1,630 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 37,378 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $8,032,000 after buying an additional 1,359 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 13.1% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 11,765 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $2,722,000 after buying an additional 1,359 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.26% of the company's stock.

Cheniere Energy Price Performance

Shares of LNG traded down $0.06 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $229.99. 1,828,629 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,274,129. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $235.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $228.77. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $175.14 and a 12-month high of $257.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company has a market cap of $50.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.43 and a beta of 0.43.

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

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Neal A. Shear sold 4,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were 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 approximately $7,312,236.69. The trade was a 12.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $262.00 price objective (up previously from $253.00) on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $255.00 to $247.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Cheniere Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $261.93.

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.