Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Reduces Position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lessened its position in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 1.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 537,167 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 7,558 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $96,604,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LNG. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Cheniere Energy by 1,490.1% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,957,451 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $342,221,000 after buying an additional 1,834,347 shares during the last quarter. Darlington Partners Capital Management LP grew its stake in Cheniere Energy by 74.6% during the 2nd quarter. Darlington Partners Capital Management LP now owns 1,514,155 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $264,720,000 after buying an additional 647,096 shares during the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP grew its stake in Cheniere Energy by 61.4% during the 1st quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 1,222,723 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $197,201,000 after buying an additional 465,000 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Cheniere Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $70,682,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in Cheniere Energy by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,270,853 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $921,503,000 after buying an additional 413,744 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America initiated coverage on Cheniere Energy in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $215.00 price target on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on Cheniere Energy from $199.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Cheniere Energy from $201.00 to $217.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Cheniere Energy from $192.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, 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 research note on Friday, August 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.89.

Cheniere Energy Stock Down 1.9 %

Cheniere Energy stock opened at $210.00 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $152.31 and a 1-year high of $217.95. The company has a market cap of $47.12 billion, a PE ratio of 13.41 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $185.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $175.58.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $3.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $2.06. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 41.44% and a net margin of 22.70%. The firm had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.37 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 18th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.77%.

Cheniere Energy 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.