Voleon Capital Management LP Sells 12,653 Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Key Points

• Voleon Capital Management LP significantly reduced its stake in Cheniere Energy by 69.7%, selling 12,653 shares, resulting in ownership of 5,490 shares worth approximately $1.27 million.
• Institutional ownership of Cheniere Energy stands at 87.26%, with several firms increasing their investments, including Nuveen LLC with a new position worth $294.8 million and Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increasing its stake by 346.6%.
• Cheniere Energy reported strong financial results for the last quarter, with $7.30 earnings per share, significantly beating estimates, and a revenue of $4.64 billion, marking a 42.8% increase year-over-year.

Voleon Capital Management LP decreased its position in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Free Report) by 69.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,490 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 12,653 shares during the period. Voleon Capital Management LP's holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $1,270,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LNG. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy in the first quarter worth $294,793,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in shares of 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 period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of 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 period. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 25.7% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,395,267 shares of the energy company's stock worth $554,265,000 after purchasing an additional 488,994 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position 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 worth $131,580,000 after purchasing an additional 441,296 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.26% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on LNG shares. TD Cowen raised their price target on Cheniere Energy from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. 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. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Mizuho raised their price target on Cheniere Energy from $268.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $267.00 to $284.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $263.29.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:LNG opened at $233.61 on Tuesday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $235.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $230.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.34 billion, a PE ratio of 13.64 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. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The energy company reported $7.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%.Cheniere Energy's revenue was up 42.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.84 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. Cheniere Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.68%.

Cheniere Energy Company 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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