Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Buys 9,036 Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Key Points

• Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Cheniere Energy by 2.3%, owning 395,638 shares valued at $91.55 million after acquiring an additional 9,036 shares.
• Cheniere Energy reported earnings of $7.30 per share for the last quarter, significantly surpassing the estimated $2.35, with quarterly revenue rising by 42.8% year-over-year.
• The company recently announced a $0.50 quarterly dividend, reflecting a 0.8% annual yield and a payout ratio of 11.68%.

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Free Report) by 2.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 395,638 shares of the energy company's stock after buying an additional 9,036 shares during the quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned approximately 0.18% of Cheniere Energy worth $91,552,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 27.6% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,304,253 shares of the energy company's stock worth $301,804,000 after buying an additional 282,050 shares in the last quarter. Thompson Davis & CO. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy in the first quarter worth $529,000. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 7.6% in the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 1,494,901 shares of the energy company's stock worth $345,920,000 after buying an additional 105,875 shares in the last quarter. Fractal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 27.7% in the first quarter. Fractal Investments LLC now owns 75,585 shares of the energy company's stock worth $17,490,000 after buying an additional 16,385 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 7.5% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 23,505 shares of the energy company's stock worth $5,439,000 after buying an additional 1,630 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on LNG. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Cheniere Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $262.00 price target (up previously from $253.00) on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $267.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $261.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cheniere Energy news, Director Neal A. Shear sold 4,300 shares of the business'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 transaction, the director owned 29,733 shares in the company, valued at $7,312,236.69. The trade was a 12.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Cheniere Energy Trading Up 0.2%

LNG stock traded up $0.46 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $242.06. 1,649,256 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,754,707. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.98. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $175.14 and a one year high of $257.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.20 billion, a PE ratio of 14.13 and a beta of 0.43. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $235.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $229.65.

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

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Cheniere Energy's payout ratio is 11.68%.

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.