First Trust Advisors LP Sells 31,439 Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

First Trust Advisors LP trimmed its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Free Report) by 13.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 208,700 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 31,439 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.09% of Cheniere Energy worth $44,843,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Cheniere Energy by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,126,512 shares of the energy company's stock worth $886,664,000 after buying an additional 379,142 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,237,303 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $695,599,000 after purchasing an additional 450,031 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Cheniere Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $629,197,000. Amundi boosted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,696,002 shares of the energy company's stock worth $606,907,000 after purchasing an additional 448,189 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Cheniere Energy by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,841,988 shares of the energy company's stock worth $395,788,000 after purchasing an additional 91,554 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.26% of the company's stock.

Cheniere Energy Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of LNG traded up $0.96 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $233.23. 1,169,657 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,882,865. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $153.03 and a 12-month high of $257.65. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $221.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $216.52. The firm has a market cap of $51.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.39 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 (NYSE:LNG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The energy company reported $4.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. Cheniere Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LNG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James reissued a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley raised 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. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $277.00 target price on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Argus assumed coverage on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $255.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cheniere Energy presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $245.15.

Insider Transactions at Cheniere Energy

In other Cheniere Energy news, Director G Andrea Botta sold 9,000 shares of the company's 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 owns 33,934 shares in the company, valued at $7,448,852.34. This represents a 20.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.26% 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.