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

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,882,948 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 199,755 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 9.31% of Cheniere Energy worth $4,487,119,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of LNG. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 10.3% during the 4th 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 raised its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 2.0% in the fourth 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 boosted its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 1.7% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 7,043 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,513,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, Hourglass Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Hourglass Capital LLC now owns 10,950 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $2,353,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director G Andrea Botta sold 9,000 shares of Cheniere Energy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was 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 owns 33,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,448,852.34. This trade represents a 20.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Cheniere Energy from $213.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $195.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays increased their target price on Cheniere Energy from $202.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $248.00 to $254.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Cheniere Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $239.79.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

LNG opened at $233.81 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.07. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $225.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $209.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.30 billion, a PE ratio of 16.43 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.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last released 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. The company had revenue of $4.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 37.19% and a net margin of 20.71%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.05%.

About Cheniere Energy

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.