Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG Shares Purchased by Northern Trust Corp

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Cheniere Energy, owning over 1.84 million shares after boosting its stake by 15.4% in the first quarter, valued at approximately $427 million.
• Cheniere Energy's recent earnings report revealed an EPS of $7.30, significantly surpassing analysts' expectations, with revenue up 42.8% compared to the previous year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, representing an annualized yield of 0.9%, and its dividend payout ratio is currently at 11.68%.

Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Free Report) by 15.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,845,962 shares of the energy company's stock after buying an additional 246,601 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned about 0.83% of Cheniere Energy worth $427,156,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Cheniere Energy by 27.6% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,304,253 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $301,804,000 after purchasing an additional 282,050 shares during the period. Thompson Davis & CO. Inc. purchased a new stake in Cheniere Energy in the first quarter valued at $529,000. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP raised its position in 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 valued at $345,920,000 after purchasing an additional 105,875 shares during the period. Fractal Investments LLC raised its position in Cheniere Energy by 27.7% in 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. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its position in Cheniere Energy by 7.5% in 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $252.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wolfe Research downgraded Cheniere Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Cheniere Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Barclays reiterated 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $261.93.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Neal A. Shear sold 4,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 29,733 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,312,236.69. This represents a 12.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

Cheniere Energy Stock Down 1.4%

LNG traded down $3.4170 on Friday, hitting $237.1930. 1,434,026 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,843,400. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $234.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $229.11. The company has a market cap of $52.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.85 and a beta of 0.43. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $175.14 and a twelve month high of $257.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $4.95. The business had revenue of $4.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.48 billion. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 37.83% and a net margin of 21.05%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 42.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.84 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. Cheniere Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 11.68%.

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.