Ninety One SA PTY Ltd Takes Position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Ninety One SA PTY Ltd acquired a new stake in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 2,027 shares of the energy company's stock, valued at approximately $463,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted 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 acquiring an additional 243,418 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,126,512 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $886,664,000 after buying an additional 379,142 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,237,303 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $695,599,000 after buying an additional 450,031 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $629,197,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised 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 buying an additional 59,281 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.26% of the company's stock.

Cheniere Energy Price Performance

LNG traded up $0.85 on Friday, hitting $235.08. 1,706,075 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,845,504. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.19. The business's fifty day moving average is $235.79 and its 200 day moving average is $228.17. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $167.66 and a fifty-two week high of $257.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.20 and a beta of 0.42.

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

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. Cheniere Energy's payout ratio is currently 14.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cheniere Energy news, Director Neal A. Shear sold 4,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director directly owned 29,733 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,312,236.69. This represents a 12.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LNG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Cheniere Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $267.00 target price on shares of Cheniere Energy and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cheniere Energy currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $258.36.

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.