Flputnam Investment Management Co. Acquires 6,145 Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Flputnam Investment Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 12.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 56,614 shares of the energy company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,145 shares during the quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $12,165,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 2.9% in the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 5,159 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $928,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 15,323 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $2,616,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 14,536 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $2,614,000 after purchasing an additional 479 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 53.3% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 368 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 6.9% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 112,652 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $20,599,000 after purchasing an additional 7,258 shares during the period. 87.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Cheniere Energy from $195.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $232.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cheniere Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $242.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $213.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.75.

Cheniere Energy Stock Up 3.9 %

Shares of NYSE:LNG opened at $228.51 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $51.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.06 and a beta of 0.98. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $152.31 and a one year high of $257.65. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $224.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $205.01. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The energy company reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $1.59. The business had revenue of $4.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.44 billion. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 37.19% and a net margin of 20.71%. Analysts anticipate that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.05%.

Insider Transactions at Cheniere Energy

In other news, Director G Andrea Botta sold 9,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 33,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,448,852.34. This represents a 20.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.