Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) Short Interest Update

Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 636,600 shares, a decrease of 8.8% from the August 31st total of 698,000 shares. Approximately 0.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 139,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.6 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on LNG. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Cheniere Energy from $178.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $208.00 to $204.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $194.00 to $199.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Monday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $196.25.

Cheniere Energy Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE LNG traded up $1.47 on Tuesday, hitting $181.31. 1,279,701 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,795,227. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63. Cheniere Energy has a 12 month low of $152.31 and a 12 month high of $187.44. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $180.72 and a 200-day moving average of $168.91. The company has a market cap of $41.50 billion, a PE ratio of 8.76 and a beta of 0.95.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The energy company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.12. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 39.42% and a net margin of 27.05%. The firm had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Cheniere Energy will post 9.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheniere Energy announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, June 17th that permits the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the energy company to buy up to 9.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Cheniere Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 7th were paid a dividend of $0.775 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 7th. This is a boost from Cheniere Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $3.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.48%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cheniere Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Cheniere Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $417,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Cheniere Energy during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Maven Securities LTD increased its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 41.4% in the second quarter. Maven Securities LTD now owns 2,502 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $437,000 after purchasing an additional 733 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy in the second quarter worth about $614,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy Company Profile

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.