Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Has $88.07 Million Holdings in Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Key Points

• Epoch Investment Partners Inc. reduced its stake in Cheniere Energy by 3.6% during the first quarter, now holding 380,601 shares valued at approximately $88.1 million.
• Cheniere Energy reported $7.30 EPS for the quarter, significantly exceeding analysts' expectations, and its quarterly revenue increased by 42.8% year-over-year, reaching $4.64 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly $0.50 dividend recently, which reflects an annualized total payout of $2.00 with a yield of 0.8%.

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. decreased its position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Free Report) by 3.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 380,601 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 14,212 shares during the quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. owned approximately 0.17% of Cheniere Energy worth $88,071,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Freedom Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,258 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp bought a new stake in Cheniere Energy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $209,000. ICONIQ Capital LLC grew its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 26.0% in the 1st quarter. ICONIQ Capital LLC now owns 2,212 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $512,000 after buying an additional 456 shares during the last quarter. Quantitative Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Cheniere Energy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $3,786,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 398.2% in the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Neal A. Shear sold 4,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.93, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LNG traded up $0.46 during trading on Thursday, hitting $242.06. 1,649,256 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,754,707. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $175.14 and a 1-year high of $257.65. The company has a market capitalization of $53.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.13 and a beta of 0.43. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $235.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $229.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.98.

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

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LNG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $262.00 target price (up previously from $253.00) on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Friday, August 8th. Wolfe Research lowered Cheniere Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Cheniere Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $261.93.

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.