State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Cuts Stock Position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Key Points

• The State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its holdings in Cheniere Energy, Inc. by 7.5%, now owning 76,520 shares valued at approximately $17.7 million.
• Cheniere Energy recently reported a quarterly earnings per share of $7.30, significantly exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.35, alongside a revenue of $4.64 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, which translates to an annual yield of 0.9%, with a payout ratio of 11.68%.

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lowered its holdings in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Free Report) by 7.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 76,520 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 6,195 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $17,707,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of LNG. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Cheniere Energy in the first quarter worth $294,793,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its position in Cheniere Energy by 84.6% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,651,500 shares of the energy company's stock worth $354,858,000 after purchasing an additional 756,900 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Cheniere Energy by 12.9% in 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 last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 346.6% in the first 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. raised its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 12.7% in the first 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.26% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LNG has been the topic of several research reports. Wolfe Research lowered Cheniere Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Cheniere Energy from $258.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on Cheniere Energy from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $261.93.

Cheniere Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LNG opened at $230.31 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.44 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $234.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $228.88. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $175.14 and a twelve month high of $257.65.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The energy company reported $7.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.35 by $4.95. The business had revenue of $4.64 billion for 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%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 42.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.84 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. Cheniere Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 11.68%.

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 stock was sold at an average price of $245.93, for a total value of $1,057,499.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 29,733 shares in the company, valued at $7,312,236.69. This represents a 12.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.