Railway Pension Investments Ltd Boosts Position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Railway Pension Investments Ltd lifted its position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 2.1% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 373,500 shares of the energy company’s stock after buying an additional 7,600 shares during the period. Railway Pension Investments Ltd’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $60,238,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LNG. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 27.1% in the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 29,235 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $4,715,000 after buying an additional 6,235 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $852,000. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,283,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 28.9% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 198,555 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $33,895,000 after purchasing an additional 44,508 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Cheniere Energy by 6.7% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 187,236 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $30,198,000 after purchasing an additional 11,800 shares during the period. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cheniere Energy Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of Cheniere Energy stock traded down $3.21 during trading on Friday, hitting $176.55. 1,926,616 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,543,313. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $169.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $163.65. The stock has a market cap of $40.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.60 and a beta of 0.96. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $152.31 and a 12-month high of $184.62.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.17). Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 48.19% and a net margin of 28.55%. The business had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.97 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.89 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 41.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 8.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Monday, June 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $4.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the energy company to buy up to 9.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management 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. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th will be issued a $0.435 dividend. This represents a $1.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LNG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Cheniere Energy in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $162.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Cheniere Energy from $213.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $204.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Monday, June 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $194.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.09.

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.