Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Increases Stock Holdings in Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Key Points

• The Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its stake in Cheniere Energy by 4.9% during Q2, now holding approximately $51.3 million worth of shares.
• Cheniere Energy's quarterly earnings exceeded expectations, reporting $7.30 EPS compared to estimates of $2.35 EPS, leading to a significant revenue increase of 42.8% year-over-year.
• Analysts show strong confidence in Cheniere Energy, with multiple firms upgrading their ratings, including Wells Fargo raising the target price from $267 to $284 and a consensus rating of "Buy."

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Free Report) by 4.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 210,590 shares of the energy company's stock after acquiring an additional 9,870 shares during the period. Cheniere Energy accounts for about 1.1% of Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System owned approximately 0.09% of Cheniere Energy worth $51,283,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 0.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,937,749 shares of the energy company's stock worth $4,844,995,000 after purchasing an additional 54,801 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 12.9% during the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,660,545 shares of the energy company's stock worth $1,078,450,000 after purchasing an additional 534,033 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 7.9% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,492,443 shares of the energy company's stock worth $808,151,000 after purchasing an additional 255,140 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 12.7% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,185,605 shares of the energy company's stock worth $737,149,000 after purchasing an additional 359,435 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 0.3% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 2,703,299 shares of the energy company's stock worth $595,245,000 after purchasing an additional 7,297 shares during the period. 87.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on LNG shares. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Friday, August 8th. Zacks Research raised Cheniere Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Cheniere Energy from $267.00 to $284.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $263.60.

Cheniere Energy Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:LNG opened at $235.65 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $51.79 billion, a PE ratio of 13.76 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $180.62 and a 52-week high of $257.65. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $235.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $232.99.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The energy company reported $7.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $4.95. The business had revenue of $4.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.48 billion. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 37.83% and a net margin of 21.05%.The business's revenue was up 42.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.84 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Company 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.

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