Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Purchases 379,142 Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 10.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,126,512 shares of the energy company’s stock after acquiring an additional 379,142 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $886,664,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 460 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 2,339 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $503,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Cheniere Energy by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 3,346 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $719,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. American Money Management LLC lifted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. American Money Management LLC now owns 10,987 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $2,361,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in Cheniere Energy by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 7,043 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,513,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cheniere Energy

In other news, Director G Andrea Botta sold 9,000 shares of Cheniere Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy Price Performance

Shares of LNG opened at $230.60 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $51.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.94. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $152.88 and a twelve month high of $257.65. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $222.74 and a 200 day moving average of $211.68.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last posted its 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. The business had revenue of $4.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 37.19% and a net margin of 20.71%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 earnings per share 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 given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LNG. StockNews.com raised Cheniere Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Barclays raised their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $202.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price 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. Argus started coverage on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $255.00 price target for the company. Finally, Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Thursday, March 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $239.79.

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.