Bailard Inc. Increases Stake in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Bailard Inc. boosted its stake in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,663 shares of the energy company’s stock after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $1,432,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. US Bancorp DE increased its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 3.4% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 14,536 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $2,614,000 after acquiring an additional 479 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 6.9% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 112,652 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $20,599,000 after acquiring an additional 7,258 shares during the period. National Pension Service increased its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 4.7% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 493,280 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $88,534,000 after acquiring an additional 22,314 shares during the period. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 8.1% in the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 60,676 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $10,912,000 after acquiring an additional 4,549 shares during the period. 87.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LNG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Cheniere Energy from $237.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Barclays boosted their target price on Cheniere Energy from $202.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cheniere Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $232.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $242.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cheniere Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 transaction, the director now owns 33,934 shares in the company, valued at $7,448,852.34. The trade was a 20.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

Shares of LNG opened at $220.50 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $224.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $205.57. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $152.31 and a 52 week high of $257.65. The stock has a market cap of $49.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.50 and a beta of 0.98.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The energy company reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $4.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.44 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is 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.