Trust Co. of Vermont Cuts Stock Position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Trust Co. of Vermont cut its holdings in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 4.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,290 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 512 shares during the quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $1,799,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LNG. Mather Group LLC. increased its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 194.2% during the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 3,931 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $634,000 after purchasing an additional 2,595 shares in the last quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,125 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $2,644,000 after buying an additional 425 shares in the last quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 10.8% in the 2nd quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC now owns 546,497 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $95,544,000 after buying an additional 53,335 shares in the last quarter. Beach Investment Counsel Inc. PA purchased a new stake in Cheniere Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $7,212,000. Finally, DNB Asset Management AS grew its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 43,182 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $7,550,000 after buying an additional 1,089 shares in the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

Cheniere Energy stock traded up $4.30 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $176.54. 1,395,524 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,890,226. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $152.31 and a twelve month high of $184.62. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $169.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $163.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market cap of $40.41 billion, a PE ratio of 8.60 and a beta of 0.96.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The energy company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.17). The business had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.97 billion. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 28.55% and a return on equity of 48.19%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 41.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.89 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 8.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be issued a $0.435 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.74 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.48%.

Cheniere Energy announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Monday, June 17th that allows the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the energy company to repurchase up to 9.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on LNG. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Cheniere Energy from $204.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Cheniere Energy from $178.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Cheniere Energy in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $162.00 price target on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Cheniere Energy in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Cheniere Energy from $223.00 to $206.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $199.09.

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.