Federated Hermes Inc. Sells 39,662 Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Federated Hermes Inc. reduced its stake in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 11.4% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 307,821 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 39,662 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $53,816,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. MCF Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new position in Cheniere Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Cooksen Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in Cheniere Energy in the 1st quarter worth $29,000. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cheniere Energy Stock Up 1.1 %

LNG stock opened at $179.10 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $180.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $166.76. The stock has a market cap of $40.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.72 and a beta of 0.95. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $152.31 and a twelve month high of $187.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The energy company reported $3.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $2.13. The business had revenue of $3.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.52 billion. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 27.05% and a return on equity of 39.42%. The company’s revenue was down 19.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.61 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 9.74 EPS for the current year.

Cheniere Energy declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Monday, June 17th that allows the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the energy company to reacquire up to 9.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a $0.435 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is presently 8.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LNG has been the topic of a number of research reports. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $178.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $213.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Cheniere Energy from $208.00 to $204.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. Barclays boosted their price target on Cheniere Energy from $194.00 to $199.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $196.00.

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.