Cheniere Energy Partners (NYSE:CQP) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Cheniere Energy Partners, L.P. (NYSE:CQP) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $61.02, but opened at $57.44. Cheniere Energy Partners shares last traded at $57.8750, with a volume of 4,537 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy Partners from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Bank of America upped their price objective on Cheniere Energy Partners from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Cheniere Energy Partners from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Weiss Ratings lowered Cheniere Energy Partners from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Cheniere Energy Partners from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cheniere Energy Partners has a consensus rating of “Strong Sell” and a consensus price target of $60.43.

Cheniere Energy Partners Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 161.69, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $62.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.25 and a beta of 0.32.

Cheniere Energy Partners (NYSE:CQP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by ($1.03). Cheniere Energy Partners had a net margin of 22.27% and a negative return on equity of 4,929.80%. The company had revenue of $3.60 billion for the quarter. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Cheniere Energy Partners, L.P. will post 4.19 EPS for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Partners Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a dividend of $0.775 per share. This represents a $3.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. Cheniere Energy Partners’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.43%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cheniere Energy Partners

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in Cheniere Energy Partners by 180.0% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. First Pacific Financial bought a new position in Cheniere Energy Partners in the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Cheniere Energy Partners by 68.3% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 505 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Caldwell Trust Co purchased a new position in Cheniere Energy Partners in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy Partners during the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. 46.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cheniere Energy Partners Company Profile

Cheniere Energy Partners, L.P. (NYSE: CQP) is a publicly traded master limited partnership that owns and operates liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure in the United States. The partnership’s business centers on the development, ownership and operation of LNG facilities and associated pipeline assets that enable the liquefaction, storage and delivery of natural gas for export and domestic use. CQP’s assets are focused on large-scale midstream energy infrastructure intended to serve global natural gas markets.

The company’s core activities include LNG liquefaction and storage, terminal services, and pipeline transportation.