Wedbush Securities Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Cheniere Energy Partners (NYSE:CQP)

Wedbush Securities Inc. lowered its stake in Cheniere Energy Partners (NYSE:CQP) by 5.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,735 shares of the company’s stock after selling 297 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Cheniere Energy Partners were worth $252,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CQP. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in Cheniere Energy Partners by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 7,438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $395,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy Partners by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 20,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,106,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy Partners by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 5,161 shares of the company’s stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Powell Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy Partners by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Powell Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,820 shares of the company’s stock worth $893,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its holdings in Cheniere Energy Partners by 30.1% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 1,341 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 46.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Cheniere Energy Partners Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CQP opened at $56.57 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $27.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.28 and a beta of 0.57. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $62.74. Cheniere Energy Partners has a 52-week low of $45.51 and a 52-week high of $68.42.

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

Cheniere Energy Partners Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.775 per share. This is a boost from Cheniere Energy Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.04. This represents a $3.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.48%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Cheniere Energy Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.77%.

Cheniere Energy Partners Profile

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.