Short Interest in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) Declines By 8.8%

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

Cheniere Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LNG traded up $1.47 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $181.31. 1,279,701 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,795,227. The company has a market cap of $41.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.83 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.02. Cheniere Energy has a 1 year low of $152.31 and a 1 year high of $187.44. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $180.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $168.91.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The energy company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.04 billion. Equities analysts predict that Cheniere Energy will post 9.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Wednesday, August 7th. This is a positive change 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 is currently 8.48%.

Cheniere Energy declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Monday, June 17th that allows the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the energy company to reacquire up to 9.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Cheniere Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LNG. MCF Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 5,000.0% in the 2nd quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 153 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy in the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Cooksen Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Monday, June 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $208.00 to $204.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $178.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cheniere Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $196.25.

About Cheniere Energy

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.