M&T Bank Corp Reduces Stock Position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

M&T Bank Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Free Report) by 7.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,301 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 1,537 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $4,235,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LNG. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Cheniere Energy by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,681,846 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $1,220,858,000 after purchasing an additional 243,418 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Cheniere Energy by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,126,512 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $886,664,000 after acquiring an additional 379,142 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Cheniere Energy by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,237,303 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $695,599,000 after acquiring an additional 450,031 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy during the fourth quarter worth $629,197,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,184,891 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $469,448,000 after acquiring an additional 59,281 shares in the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cheniere Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LNG opened at $234.06 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $51.91 billion, a PE ratio of 17.12 and a beta of 0.42. The business's fifty day moving average price is $235.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $228.00. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $167.66 and a one year high of $257.65. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The energy company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.81 by ($1.24). The business had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.73 billion. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 32.62% and a net margin of 18.37%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.13 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. Cheniere Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 14.63%.

Insider Activity at Cheniere Energy

In related 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 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on LNG shares. Wolfe Research cut Cheniere Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Cheniere Energy from $243.00 to $242.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $277.00 price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $267.00 price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $258.36.

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.

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