B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Lowers Stock Holdings in Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG reduced its stake in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 9.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 38,493 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 4,154 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $9,045,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new position in Cheniere Energy in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raised its position in Cheniere Energy by 250.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 140 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy in the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 47.6% in the 3rd quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 155 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on LNG. Wolfe Research set a $220.00 price target on Cheniere Energy and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $283.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 12th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $274.00 to $271.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $259.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $254.00 price target on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Cheniere Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $264.89.

Cheniere Energy Price Performance

NYSE LNG opened at $254.77 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $53.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.48 and a beta of 0.25. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $213.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $216.86. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $186.20 and a 1 year high of $259.24.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The energy company reported $10.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.90 by $6.78. The company had revenue of $5.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.48 billion. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 32.04% and a net margin of 26.68%.The firm’s revenue was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.33 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

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

Cheniere Energy declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 26th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the energy company to reacquire up to 21.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Cheniere Energy Company Profile

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.