Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Boosts Stake in Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its position in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 45.7% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 189,524 shares of the energy company’s stock after buying an additional 59,478 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $53,779,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of LNG. Strive Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Cheniere Energy during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in Cheniere Energy during the third quarter worth $27,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc purchased a new position in Cheniere Energy in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Sankala Group LLC purchased a new position in Cheniere Energy in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:LNG opened at $243.61 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $243.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $233.54. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $186.20 and a 1 year high of $300.89. The company has a market capitalization of $51.05 billion and a P/E ratio of 40.07.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The energy company reported ($16.65) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.25 by ($20.90). Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 7.23% and a return on equity of 38.95%. The firm had revenue of $5.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.57 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 14.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $0.555 dividend. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is currently 36.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LNG. Weiss Ratings lowered Cheniere Energy from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Cheniere Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $280.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $265.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $296.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cheniere Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $297.71.

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.