Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) Stock Price Down 4.1% – Here’s What Happened

Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)’s stock price traded down 4.1% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $287.00 and last traded at $281.5260. 1,894,458 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 30% from the average session volume of 2,720,192 shares. The stock had previously closed at $293.64.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on LNG shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley raised Cheniere Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $236.00 to $313.00 in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Barclays boosted their price target on Cheniere Energy from $259.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $277.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Cheniere Energy from $276.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Cheniere Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $282.00.

Cheniere Energy Trading Down 4.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company’s fifty day moving average is $236.86 and its 200-day moving average is $220.47. The stock has a market cap of $58.99 billion, a PE ratio of 11.58 and a beta of 0.25.

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

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th were paid a $0.555 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.14%.

Cheniere Energy announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the energy company to purchase up to 21.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Railway Pension Investments Ltd raised its position in Cheniere Energy by 62.9% in the third quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd now owns 777,200 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $182,626,000 after purchasing an additional 300,100 shares during the period. Viking Fund Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 66.7% during the fourth quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC now owns 45,000 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $8,748,000 after buying an additional 18,000 shares during the period. M&G PLC grew its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 49.6% in the third quarter. M&G PLC now owns 556,285 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $130,727,000 after buying an additional 184,520 shares in the last quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 35.3% in the 3rd quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 196,819 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $46,244,000 after buying an additional 51,326 shares during the period. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,460,762 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $343,250,000 after buying an additional 163,861 shares during the period. 87.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.