Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Takes $9.40 Million Position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Key Points

• Lighthouse Investment Partners bought a new stake of 40,000 shares in Cheniere Energy in Q3, valued at approximately $9.40 million.
• Cheniere's board has authorized a $10.0 billion share repurchase plan, allowing the company to buy back up to about 21.1% of its shares via open‑market purchases.
• Cheniere reported a strong quarterly beat with EPS of $10.68 versus estimates of $3.90 and revenue of $5.45 billion (up 22.9% year‑over‑year), while also paying a recent quarterly dividend of $0.555.

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 40,000 shares of the energy company's stock, valued at approximately $9,399,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in Cheniere Energy during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. increased its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 250.0% in the third quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 140 shares of the energy company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 47.6% during the third quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 155 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.26% of the company's stock.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

Shares of LNG opened at $252.44 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $53.06 billion, a PE ratio of 10.39 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company's 50 day moving average price is $218.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $217.23. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $186.20 and a 52 week high of $259.24.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The energy company reported $10.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.90 by $6.78. The company had revenue of $5.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.48 billion. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 26.68% and a return on equity of 32.04%. The company's revenue was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.33 EPS. Research analysts expect that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 26th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the energy company to reacquire up to 21.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th were paid a $0.555 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Cheniere Energy's dividend payout ratio is 9.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on LNG shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $280.00 to $271.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Barclays increased their target price on Cheniere Energy from $259.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Cheniere Energy from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Cheniere Energy from $277.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $264.39.

About Cheniere Energy

Cheniere Energy, Inc is a U.S.-based energy company that develops, owns and operates liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure and markets LNG to global customers. The company's core activities include natural gas liquefaction, long‑term and short‑term LNG sales and marketing, and the associated midstream services required to move gas from production basins to international markets. Cheniere focuses on converting domestic natural gas into LNG for export, providing a bridge between North American supply and overseas demand.

Cheniere's principal operating assets are large-scale LNG export terminals located on the U.S.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding LNG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.