Victory Capital Management Inc. Reduces Holdings in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Victory Capital Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 18.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 115,096 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 26,174 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $19,648,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,283,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in Cheniere Energy by 28.9% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 198,555 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $33,895,000 after purchasing an additional 44,508 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new position in Cheniere Energy in the fourth quarter worth $1,144,000. Rheos Capital Works Inc. purchased a new position in Cheniere Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $8,894,000. Finally, Riverstone Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Riverstone Advisors LLC now owns 14,882 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $2,540,000 after buying an additional 513 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LNG has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $192.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $223.00 to $206.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com downgraded Cheniere Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $204.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on Cheniere Energy from $185.00 to $178.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $196.40.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

NYSE LNG opened at $157.88 on Friday. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $135.30 and a one year high of $183.46. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $158.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.59, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The company has a market cap of $36.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.69 and a beta of 0.95.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 3rd. The energy company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.17). Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 28.55% and a return on equity of 48.95%. The company had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.89 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 41.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 8.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a $0.435 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $1.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.