Jennison Associates LLC Sells 102,604 Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Jennison Associates LLC lowered its stake in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Free Report) by 7.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,357,271 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 102,604 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC owned about 0.61% of Cheniere Energy worth $314,072,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of LNG. REAP Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 150.0% during the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 125 shares of the energy company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Cooksen Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 2,022.2% in the 4th quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 191 shares of the energy company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Cheniere Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.26% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LNG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group set a $288.00 price target on Cheniere Energy and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Cheniere Energy from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Cheniere Energy from $255.00 to $247.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $258.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $260.36.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

LNG traded up $12.68 on Friday, hitting $244.35. 5,482,972 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,860,106. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $235.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $229.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.19 billion, a PE ratio of 17.87 and a beta of 0.42. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $167.66 and a 52 week high of $257.65.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The energy company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.81 by ($1.24). The business had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 32.62% and a net margin of 18.37%. The firm's revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.13 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. Cheniere Energy's dividend payout ratio is 14.63%.

Insider Activity at Cheniere Energy

In other Cheniere Energy news, Director Neal A. Shear sold 4,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director owned 29,733 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,312,236.69. The trade was a 12.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

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.