Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Cuts Stake in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. reduced its position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 11.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 886 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 120 shares during the quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $190,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LNG. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 170.5% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 119 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC boosted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 373.1% in the fourth quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 123 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Cheniere Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Cheniere Energy in the third quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Adirondack Trust Co. purchased a new stake in Cheniere Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. 87.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $234.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $202.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $242.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $232.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $213.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.33.

Cheniere Energy Trading Up 2.4 %

LNG opened at $220.57 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 50 day simple moving average is $225.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $206.37. 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 $49.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.50 and a beta of 0.94.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The energy company reported $4.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by $1.59. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 20.71% and a return on equity of 37.19%. The business had revenue of $4.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. Analysts expect that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders 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 of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director G Andrea Botta sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now owns 33,934 shares in the company, valued at $7,448,852.34. This trade represents a 20.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.