Clearbridge Investments LLC Reduces Holdings in Cheniere Energy Partners (NYSE:CQP)

Clearbridge Investments LLC lowered its position in Cheniere Energy Partners (NYSE:CQP) by 13.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 509,291 shares of the company’s stock after selling 80,127 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned 0.11% of Cheniere Energy Partners worth $27,054,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CQP. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy Partners by 30.1% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 1,341 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in Cheniere Energy Partners by 53.7% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,825 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 638 shares in the last quarter. Millburn Ridgefield Corp purchased a new position in Cheniere Energy Partners in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $116,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy Partners by 64.5% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $135,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy Partners in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $212,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.55% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy Partners Price Performance

NYSE:CQP opened at $68.00 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.96 and a beta of 0.70. Cheniere Energy Partners has a 52 week low of $45.51 and a 52 week high of $68.30. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $63.18.

Cheniere Energy Partners (NYSE:CQP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.37 billion. Cheniere Energy Partners had a net margin of 28.84% and a negative return on equity of 325.95%. Equities analysts expect that Cheniere Energy Partners will post 4.14 EPS for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.775 dividend. This is a positive change from Cheniere Energy Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.04. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $3.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.56%. Cheniere Energy Partners’s payout ratio is presently 72.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Cheniere Energy Partners from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Cheniere Energy Partners from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $50.00 to $51.00 in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy Partners from $46.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th.

About Cheniere Energy Partners

Cheniere Energy Partners, L.P., through its subsidiaries, provides liquefied natural gas (LNG) to integrated energy companies, utilities, and energy trading companies worldwide. The company owns and operates natural gas liquefaction and export facility at the Sabine Pass LNG Terminal located in Cameron Parish, Louisiana.