Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Trims Stake in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lessened its position in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 26.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,059 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 8,029 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $4,740,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LNG. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 460 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $99,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 2,339 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $503,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in Cheniere Energy by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 3,346 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $719,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Hourglass Capital LLC increased its stake in Cheniere Energy by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Hourglass Capital LLC now owns 10,950 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $2,353,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Chemistry Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Chemistry Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,241 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $267,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Cheniere Energy news, Director G Andrea Botta sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.51, for a total value of $1,975,590.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 33,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,448,852.34. This represents a 20.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE LNG opened at $215.39 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.14 and a beta of 0.94. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $152.88 and a 52 week high of $257.65. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $225.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $207.02. 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 (NYSE:LNG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The energy company reported $4.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by $1.59. The company had revenue of $4.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 20.71% and a return on equity of 37.19%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on LNG shares. TD Cowen raised their price target on Cheniere Energy from $242.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Cheniere Energy from $195.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays boosted their target price on Cheniere Energy from $202.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $232.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.33.

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.