TimesSquare Capital Management LLC Sells 20,980 Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

TimesSquare Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 570,652 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 20,980 shares during the period. Cheniere Energy comprises about 1.4% of TimesSquare Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $97,416,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LNG. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $1,283,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in Cheniere Energy by 28.9% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 198,555 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $33,895,000 after purchasing an additional 44,508 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,144,000. Rheos Capital Works Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,894,000. Finally, Riverstone Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Riverstone Advisors LLC now owns 14,882 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $2,540,000 after purchasing an additional 513 shares in the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on LNG shares. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $185.00 to $178.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $204.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Barclays boosted their price target on Cheniere Energy from $192.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $223.00 to $206.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Cheniere Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $196.40.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LNG traded up $0.75 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $157.88. 1,420,648 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,935,324. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.59. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $135.30 and a one year high of $183.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.69 and a beta of 0.95. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $158.06.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The energy company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.17). Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 48.95% and a net margin of 28.55%. The firm had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $6.89 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 41.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 8.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a $0.435 dividend. This represents a $1.74 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is 8.48%.

Cheniere Energy 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.