Raymond James Financial Inc. Cuts Holdings in Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. reduced its stake in Cheniere Energy by 5.1% during the 1st quarter, owning approximately 577,564 shares valued at $133.6 million.
• Cheniere Energy reported a significant earnings per share (EPS) of $7.30 for the last quarter, exceeding estimates by $4.95, and achieved a revenue of $4.64 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, with a current annualized dividend yield of 0.9% and a payout ratio of 11.68%.

Raymond James Financial Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Free Report) by 5.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 577,564 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 31,045 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.26% of Cheniere Energy worth $133,648,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of LNG. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $294,793,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 84.6% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,651,500 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $354,858,000 after buying an additional 756,900 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 12.9% during the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,660,545 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $1,078,450,000 after buying an additional 534,033 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 346.6% during the 1st quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 568,627 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $131,580,000 after buying an additional 441,296 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 12.7% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,185,605 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $737,149,000 after buying an additional 359,435 shares during the period. 87.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Cheniere Energy from $267.00 to $284.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Wolfe Research cut Cheniere Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $262.00 target price (up from $253.00) on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen cut Cheniere Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Cheniere Energy from $255.00 to $247.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $261.93.

Cheniere Energy Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of LNG stock opened at $230.30 on Tuesday. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $175.14 and a 52-week high of $257.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.61 billion, a PE ratio of 13.44 and a beta of 0.43. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $234.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $228.92.

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

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 18th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.9%. Cheniere Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cheniere Energy

In other news, Director Neal A. Shear sold 4,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.93, for a total transaction of $1,057,499.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 29,733 shares in the company, valued at $7,312,236.69. This trade represents a 12.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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