Advisory Services Network LLC Increases Stake in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Advisory Services Network LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 15.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 17,940 shares of the energy company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,445 shares during the quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $3,855,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in LNG. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $333,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 3.5% during the third quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 14,062 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $2,529,000 after buying an additional 470 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 16.0% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 48,124 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $8,655,000 after buying an additional 6,640 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 13.5% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 79,135 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $14,232,000 after buying an additional 9,419 shares during the period. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 42.3% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,423 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $452,000 after buying an additional 720 shares during the period. 87.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director G Andrea Botta sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.51, for a total value of $1,975,590.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 33,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,448,852.34. This represents a 20.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LNG has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted 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 restated a “buy” rating and set a $277.00 price target on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Cheniere Energy from $237.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Cheniere Energy from $242.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Cheniere Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $239.79.

Cheniere Energy Trading Up 6.2 %

Cheniere Energy stock opened at $217.87 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $48.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.31 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $152.88 and a 12 month high of $257.65. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $220.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $212.97.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The energy company reported $4.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by $1.59. The firm had revenue of $4.44 billion for 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, equities analysts predict that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 0.92%. 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.