Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Cuts Holdings in Cheniere Energy Partners (NYSE:CQP)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System cut its position in shares of Cheniere Energy Partners (NYSE:CQP) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 31,942 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,143 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Cheniere Energy Partners were worth $1,697,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CQP. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its holdings in Cheniere Energy Partners by 30.1% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 1,341 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Cheniere Energy Partners by 53.7% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,825 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 638 shares during the last quarter. Millburn Ridgefield Corp purchased a new position in Cheniere Energy Partners during the third quarter worth about $116,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Cheniere Energy Partners by 64.5% during the fourth 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, Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Cheniere Energy Partners in the third quarter valued at about $146,000. 46.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cheniere Energy Partners Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE CQP opened at $62.02 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.63. Cheniere Energy Partners has a 12-month low of $45.51 and a 12-month high of $68.30. The company has a market capitalization of $30.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.56 and a beta of 0.70.

Cheniere Energy Partners (NYSE:CQP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.07 by ($0.02). Cheniere Energy Partners had a net margin of 28.84% and a negative return on equity of 325.95%. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.37 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $3.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.00%. This is a positive change from Cheniere Energy Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.04. Cheniere Energy Partners’s payout ratio is 72.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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