Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 2,050 Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Russell Investments Group Ltd. trimmed its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 524,235 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 2,050 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.24% of Cheniere Energy worth $123,190,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Altman Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Altman Advisors Inc. now owns 10,206 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $2,409,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 1.5% during the third quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 3,268 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $768,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 0.9% in the third quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,385 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,265,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 7.3% in the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 688 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $162,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Howard Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 3.3% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,488 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $350,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cheniere Energy Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:LNG opened at $250.68 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $52.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.32 and a beta of 0.25. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $186.20 and a 12 month high of $259.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $214.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $216.93.

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

Cheniere Energy declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 26th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the energy company to buy up to 21.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th were given a $0.555 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LNG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley set a $236.00 price target on Cheniere Energy and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $266.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Cheniere Energy from $283.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Cheniere Energy from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cheniere Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $264.89.

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.