Erste Asset Management GmbH Acquires 20,380 Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Erste Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Free Report) by 21.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 113,503 shares of the energy company's stock after purchasing an additional 20,380 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH owned 0.05% of Cheniere Energy worth $24,388,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LNG. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 170.5% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 119 shares of the energy company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC lifted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 373.1% during the 4th quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 123 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Cheniere Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Adirondack Trust Co. bought a new position in Cheniere Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Cheniere Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. Institutional investors own 87.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director G Andrea Botta sold 9,000 shares of Cheniere Energy stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was 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 directly owns 33,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,448,852.34. This trade represents a 20.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $242.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $195.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Barclays increased 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, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cheniere Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. 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.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $236.33.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

Cheniere Energy stock traded up $7.06 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $218.61. The stock had a trading volume of 1,585,717 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,747,623. The firm's fifty day moving average is $224.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $207.63. The company has a market capitalization of $48.90 billion, a PE ratio of 15.36 and a beta of 0.94. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $152.88 and a 52-week high of $257.65. 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 (NYSE:LNG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 EPS for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

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