Natixis Has $998,000 Position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Natixis increased its stake in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 43.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,186 shares of the energy company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,879 shares during the quarter. Natixis’ holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $998,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Cheniere Energy by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,529,191 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $3,845,958,000 after buying an additional 151,311 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Cheniere Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $308,910,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 12.8% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 1,601,172 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $255,372,000 after buying an additional 181,886 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 13.9% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,384,125 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $223,232,000 after buying an additional 169,072 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 231.8% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,338,752 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $215,914,000 after buying an additional 935,239 shares during the period. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on LNG shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Cheniere Energy from $204.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Cheniere Energy in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded Cheniere Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $162.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $213.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.09.

Cheniere Energy Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of LNG stock traded up $0.72 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $177.07. 48,592 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,891,366. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $166.90. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $152.31 and a 12-month high of $184.62. The firm has a market cap of $40.53 billion, a PE ratio of 8.59 and a beta of 0.96.

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

Cheniere Energy announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, June 17th that allows the company to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the energy company to purchase up to 9.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be given a dividend of $0.435 per share. This represents a $1.74 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio 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.