Vestcor Inc Sells 882 Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Vestcor Inc trimmed its stake in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 11.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,865 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 882 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $1,475,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 3.2% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,438,428 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $978,047,000 after buying an additional 167,575 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Cheniere Energy by 195.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,200,456 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $755,410,000 after purchasing an additional 2,776,920 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 91.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,747,370 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $673,927,000 after purchasing an additional 1,789,919 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 19.9% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,696,002 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $606,907,000 after purchasing an additional 448,189 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 11.0% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,793,989 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $322,631,000 after purchasing an additional 178,318 shares in the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LNG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $195.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $213.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $242.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $237.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.33.

Cheniere Energy Price Performance

Shares of LNG opened at $218.61 on Friday. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $224.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $207.45. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $152.88 and a 1-year high of $257.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.90 billion, a PE ratio of 15.36 and a beta of 0.94.

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 business had revenue of $4.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 EPS for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders 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 0.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is 14.05%.

Insider Activity

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 transaction of $1,975,590.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 33,934 shares in the company, valued at $7,448,852.34. The trade was a 20.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.