Blair William & Co. IL Has $7.89 Million Stock Holdings in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Blair William & Co. IL grew its position in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 11.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,939 shares of the energy company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,140 shares during the quarter. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $7,893,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 27.1% in the first quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 29,235 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $4,715,000 after acquiring an additional 6,235 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $852,000. Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,283,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 28.9% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 198,555 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $33,895,000 after acquiring an additional 44,508 shares during the period. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,144,000. 87.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on LNG shares. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Cheniere Energy in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Cheniere Energy in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $162.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Cheniere Energy from $213.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Cheniere Energy from $204.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on Cheniere Energy from $223.00 to $206.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $199.09.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LNG traded down $0.21 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $181.82. 1,275,328 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,919,801. The company has a market capitalization of $41.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.87 and a beta of 0.96. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $152.31 and a one year high of $184.62. The company’s 50 day moving average is $164.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The energy company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.17). Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 48.19% and a net margin of 28.55%. The company had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.89 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 41.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 8.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, June 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $4.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the energy company to reacquire up to 9.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.435 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.74 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.48%.

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.