Cigna Investments Inc. New Has $407,000 Stock Position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Cigna Investments Inc. New cut its position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 8.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,323 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 223 shares during the quarter. Cigna Investments Inc. New’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $407,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 11,985 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $2,046,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $220,930,000. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 249.1% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 69,407 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $11,849,000 after purchasing an additional 49,523 shares during the period. Perigon Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $218,000. Finally, Simplicity Solutions LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 4,632 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $791,000 after buying an additional 318 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on LNG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $213.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Cheniere Energy from $223.00 to $206.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Barclays boosted their price target on Cheniere Energy from $194.00 to $199.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Monday, June 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $208.00 to $204.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cheniere Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $196.40.

Cheniere Energy Price Performance

Shares of LNG traded up $0.62 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $184.74. 1,050,697 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,875,576. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58. The business has a 50-day moving average of $172.90 and a 200 day moving average of $164.48. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $152.31 and a one year high of $185.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.97 and a beta of 0.96.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The energy company reported $3.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $2.13. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 48.19% and a net margin of 28.55%. The firm had revenue of $3.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.52 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.61 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 19.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 8.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be paid a $0.435 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is presently 8.48%.

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

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.