Deutsche Bank AG Lowers Stock Holdings in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Key Points

• Deutsche Bank AG reduced its stake in Cheniere Energy by 8.4%, selling 109,978 shares, and now owns approximately 0.54% of the company, valued at $276 million.
• Cheniere Energy reported $7.30 earnings per share for the quarter, significantly beating estimates, and had a net margin of 18.37% and revenue of $4.64 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, which reflects an annualized yield of 0.9% and a payout ratio of 14.63%.

Deutsche Bank AG reduced its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Free Report) by 8.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,193,020 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 109,978 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG owned approximately 0.54% of Cheniere Energy worth $276,065,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. REAP Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 150.0% in the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 125 shares of the energy company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new stake in Cheniere Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Cooksen Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Cheniere Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Tsfg LLC raised its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 676.0% during the 1st quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 194 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the period. 87.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Cheniere Energy

In related news, Director Neal A. Shear sold 4,300 shares of Cheniere Energy 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 29,733 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,312,236.69. The trade was a 12.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

Cheniere Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LNG traded down $4.43 on Friday, reaching $230.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,356,085 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,208,187. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $175.14 and a 52-week high of $257.65. The company has a market cap of $51.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.48 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $235.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $228.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.19.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The energy company reported $7.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.35 by $4.95. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 21.05% and a return on equity of 39.21%. The firm had revenue of $4.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.48 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.84 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 42.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 18th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Cheniere Energy's payout ratio is currently 14.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LNG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Cheniere Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $288.00 price target on shares of Cheniere Energy and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $255.00 to $247.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $262.00 price target (up from $253.00) on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $267.00 price target on shares of Cheniere Energy and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cheniere Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $260.71.

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.