Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 21.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 43,598 shares of the energy company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,609 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $9,368,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in Cheniere Energy by 170.5% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 119 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC raised its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 373.1% in the 4th quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 123 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Adirondack Trust Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Cheniere Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LNG. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $237.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $213.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Argus began coverage on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $255.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Cheniere Energy from $195.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. One research 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 currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.79.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

NYSE LNG opened at $227.29 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $224.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $208.31. The company has a market cap of $50.84 billion, a PE ratio of 15.97 and a beta of 0.94. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $152.88 and a 1-year high of $257.65.

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

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.05%.

Insider Activity at Cheniere Energy

In other news, Director G Andrea Botta sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 33,934 shares in the company, valued at $7,448,852.34. This represents a 20.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Cheniere Energy Company 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.