Here’s Why Cheniere Energy (LNG) Slipped 5% in Q1

TimesSquare Capital Management, an equity investment management company, released its “U.S. Focus Growth Strategy” first-quarter investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. In the first quarter, the strategy returned 11.72% (gross) and 11.49% (net) compared to 9.50% for the Russell Midcap Growth Index. The first-quarter performance was barbelled, particularly for U.S. small- to mid-cap equities. The best-performing stocks were those with the highest quality (return on equity) or low valuations (price/earnings). Stocks with higher risk (beta) or stocks with hyper-growth expectations were also rewarded. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2024.

TimesSquare Capital U.S. Focus Growth Strategy highlighted stocks like Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG), in the first quarter 2024 investor letter. Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) is an energy infrastructure company, that primarily focuses on liquefied natural gas (LNG) related businesses. The one-month return of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) was 5.06%, and its shares gained 11.86% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On June 21, 2024, Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) stock closed at $164.92 per share with a market capitalization of $37.752 billion.

TimesSquare Capital U.S. Focus Growth Strategy stated the following regarding Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) in its first quarter 2024 investor letter:

"The strategy’s top detractor was the -5% retrenchment from Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG), which operates liquid natural gas (LNG) liquefaction facilities for the global transportation of LNG. While revenues and earnings were as expected, management’s initial guidance for the new fiscal year was lower than anticipated. Cheniere was conservative—appropriately so in our view—regarding plant volumes as election-year noise surrounding the regulatory environment could dampen LNG exploration and export activities."

Close-up of a liquefied natural gas terminal expelling plumes of smoke.

Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) is not on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 69 hedge fund portfolios held Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) at the end of the first quarter which was 64 in the previous quarter. Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) reported a net income of around $502 million, distributable cash flow of about $1.2 billion, and consolidated adjusted EBITDA of about $1.8 billion for the first quarter of 2024. While we acknowledge the potential of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is as promising as NVIDIA but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

We discussed Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) in another article and shared the list of best undervalued energy stocks to buy according to analysts. In the previous quarter's investor letter, TimesSquare Capital Management’s U.S. Mid Cap Growth Strategy mentioned that Cheniere Energy, Inc.'s (NYSE:LNG) stock price rose by 3%. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 2024 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.