L2 Asset Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

L2 Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 754.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,294 shares of the energy company’s stock after buying an additional 7,323 shares during the period. L2 Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $1,949,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LNG. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its position in Cheniere Energy by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 3,268 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $768,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,385 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $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 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 688 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $162,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Titleist Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 1.5% in the second quarter. Titleist Asset Management LLC now owns 3,309 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $806,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:LNG opened at $251.25 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $219.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $217.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.34 and a beta of 0.25. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $186.20 and a 52-week high of $259.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.94.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The energy company reported $10.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.90 by $6.78. The firm had revenue of $5.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.48 billion. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 26.68% and a return on equity of 32.04%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.33 EPS. Analysts expect that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 EPS for the current year.

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

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on LNG. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $266.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $254.00 target price on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $280.00 to $271.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $277.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $274.00 to $271.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $264.39.

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.