Geode Capital Management LLC Sells 15,592 Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Geode Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,620,930 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 15,592 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 1.61% of Cheniere Energy worth $776,555,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LNG. Nemes Rush Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 2,022.2% in the 4th quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 191 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Summit Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 108.6% during the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 12,463 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $2,678,000 after buying an additional 6,489 shares during the last quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 669.2% in the fourth quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 1,000 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $215,000 after buying an additional 870 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 42.1% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 783,261 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $168,299,000 after acquiring an additional 232,028 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. boosted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 30.8% during the 4th quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. now owns 3,707 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $797,000 after acquiring an additional 872 shares during the period. 87.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on LNG. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $277.00 price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $248.00 to $254.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $237.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $213.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $239.79.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director G Andrea Botta sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.51, for a total value of $1,975,590.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 33,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,448,852.34. This represents a 20.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy Trading Up 1.7 %

LNG opened at $234.95 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $152.88 and a 52 week high of $257.65. The stock has a market cap of $52.55 billion, a PE ratio of 16.51 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a 50 day moving average of $222.77 and a 200-day moving average of $211.84.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The energy company reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $1.59. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 37.19% and a net margin of 20.71%. The business had revenue of $4.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is currently 14.05%.

Cheniere Energy Profile

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.