Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 199,755 Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its position in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,882,948 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 199,755 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of Cheniere Energy worth $4,487,119,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 89.5% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 5,945 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,069,000 after buying an additional 2,808 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 10.1% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 15,871 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $2,854,000 after acquiring an additional 1,460 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 14.2% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,978 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,794,000 after acquiring an additional 1,240 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Cheniere Energy by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 940,200 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $169,086,000 after purchasing an additional 15,675 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 23.2% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 6,394 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,150,000 after purchasing an additional 1,203 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cheniere Energy

In related news, Director G Andrea Botta sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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. The trade was a 20.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on LNG. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $237.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $248.00 to $254.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Argus initiated coverage on Cheniere Energy in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $255.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $277.00 price target on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cheniere Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $239.79.

Cheniere Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LNG opened at $233.81 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $225.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $209.50. The company has a market cap of $52.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.43 and a beta of 0.94. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $152.88 and a one year high of $257.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The energy company reported $4.33 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $4.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. Research analysts predict that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.