Arizona State Retirement System Trims Stake in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Arizona State Retirement System reduced its position in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 67,697 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 1,073 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $11,557,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in LNG. Capital World Investors purchased a new position in Cheniere Energy in the first quarter worth $391,652,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Cheniere Energy in the fourth quarter worth $261,515,000. State Street Corp grew its position in Cheniere Energy by 13.6% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,934,156 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $961,421,000 after acquiring an additional 830,898 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in Cheniere Energy by 73.0% in the third quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,496,100 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $248,293,000 after acquiring an additional 631,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its position in Cheniere Energy by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,542,925 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $531,297,000 after acquiring an additional 576,067 shares in the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

Shares of LNG opened at $156.67 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.77 billion, a PE ratio of 3.87, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.59. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.30 and a fifty-two week high of $183.46. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $161.12.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The energy company reported $5.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.70 by $3.06. The business had revenue of $4.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.37 billion. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 48.45% and a return on equity of 69.52%. The business’s revenue was down 46.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $15.78 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 6th were issued a dividend of $0.435 per share. This represents a $1.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 5th. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is 4.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $187.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 15th. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $185.00 to $178.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. StockNews.com raised shares of Cheniere Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Barclays boosted 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. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $196.78.

About Cheniere Energy

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.