Korea Investment CORP Trims Position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Korea Investment CORP decreased its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 2.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 201,408 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 4,648 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP owned approximately 0.09% of Cheniere Energy worth $47,327,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Railway Pension Investments Ltd raised its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 62.9% during the third quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd now owns 777,200 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $182,626,000 after acquiring an additional 300,100 shares in the last quarter. M&G PLC grew its stake in Cheniere Energy by 49.6% in the third quarter. M&G PLC now owns 556,285 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $130,727,000 after purchasing an additional 184,520 shares in the last quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in Cheniere Energy by 35.3% in the third quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 196,819 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $46,244,000 after purchasing an additional 51,326 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,460,762 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $343,250,000 after purchasing an additional 163,861 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 360,504 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $84,711,000 after purchasing an additional 9,085 shares during the period. 87.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cheniere Energy Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of Cheniere Energy stock opened at $254.77 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $53.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.48 and a beta of 0.25. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $186.20 and a 52-week high of $259.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $213.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $216.86.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The energy company reported $10.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.90 by $6.78. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 26.68% and a return on equity of 32.04%. The business had revenue of $5.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.48 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.33 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th were paid a dividend of $0.555 per share. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is 9.14%.

Cheniere Energy announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 26th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the energy company to purchase up to 21.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LNG has been the subject of several research reports. Wolfe Research set a $220.00 target price on Cheniere Energy and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Scotiabank raised their price target on Cheniere Energy from $266.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $282.00 to $271.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $284.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $264.89.

About Cheniere Energy

Cheniere Energy, Inc is a U.S.-based energy company that develops, owns and operates liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure and markets LNG to global customers. The company’s core activities include natural gas liquefaction, long‑term and short‑term LNG sales and marketing, and the associated midstream services required to move gas from production basins to international markets. Cheniere focuses on converting domestic natural gas into LNG for export, providing a bridge between North American supply and overseas demand.

Cheniere’s principal operating assets are large-scale LNG export terminals located on the U.S.