American Century Companies Inc. Cuts Position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

American Century Companies Inc. cut its position in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Free Report) by 9.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,022,203 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 111,934 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.46% of Cheniere Energy worth $219,641,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LNG. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 89.5% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 5,945 shares of the energy company's stock worth $1,069,000 after purchasing an additional 2,808 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 15,871 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $2,854,000 after buying an additional 1,460 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its position in Cheniere Energy by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 3,891 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $700,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Cheniere Energy by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,978 shares of the energy company's stock worth $1,794,000 after acquiring an additional 1,240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 9.1% during the third quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 3,389 shares of the energy company's stock worth $609,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares during the period. 87.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

LNG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Mizuho increased their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $248.00 to $254.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $234.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $277.00 price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $202.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Cheniere Energy from $195.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $239.79.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

Cheniere Energy stock traded down $5.69 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $226.76. 2,259,406 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,748,465. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $152.88 and a 1 year high of $257.65. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $224.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $210.02. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $50.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.94 and a beta of 0.94.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The energy company reported $4.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $1.59. The firm had revenue of $4.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.44 billion. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 20.71% and a return on equity of 37.19%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 EPS 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 issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Cheniere Energy's payout ratio is presently 14.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director G Andrea Botta sold 9,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Cheniere Energy Company Profile

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.