Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec Has $31.83 Million Holdings in Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Key Points

• Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec reduced its stake in Cheniere Energy by 72.3% during the first quarter, leaving it with 137,553 shares valued at approximately $31.83 million.
• Cheniere Energy reported a Q2 EPS of $7.30, significantly exceeding analysts’ estimates of $2.35, with revenues of $4.64 billion for the quarter.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 0.8%, and a payout ratio of approximately 11.68%.

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec trimmed its position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Free Report) by 72.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 137,553 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 359,477 shares during the quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec owned 0.06% of Cheniere Energy worth $31,830,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Freedom Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Cheniere Energy by 37.9% in the first quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,575 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $1,059,000 after acquiring an additional 1,258 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp bought a new position in Cheniere Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $209,000. ICONIQ Capital LLC increased its stake in Cheniere Energy by 26.0% in the first quarter. ICONIQ Capital LLC now owns 2,212 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $512,000 after acquiring an additional 456 shares during the last quarter. Quantitative Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Cheniere Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $3,786,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in Cheniere Energy by 398.2% in the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 38,107 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $8,818,000 after buying an additional 30,458 shares in the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cheniere Energy

In other news, Director Neal A. Shear sold 4,300 shares of the company'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 owned 29,733 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,312,236.69. This represents a 12.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on LNG shares. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $268.00 to $273.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $288.00 target price on shares of Cheniere Energy and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $258.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $263.29.

Cheniere Energy Trading Down 0.2%

LNG stock traded down $0.50 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $241.64. The stock had a trading volume of 1,655,524 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,748,588. The firm has a market cap of $53.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.11 and a beta of 0.43. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $175.14 and a 1-year high of $257.65. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $235.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $229.95.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The energy company reported $7.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $4.95. The business 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 revenue for the quarter was up 42.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.84 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

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

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.