Franklin Resources Inc. Cuts Holdings in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its stake in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Free Report) by 24.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 915,952 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 303,663 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.41% of Cheniere Energy worth $196,810,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,127,000. Fractal Investments LLC grew its stake in Cheniere Energy by 31.0% in the fourth quarter. Fractal Investments LLC now owns 59,200 shares of the energy company's stock worth $12,720,000 after purchasing an additional 14,000 shares during the period. Anderson Hoagland & Co. bought a new position in Cheniere Energy in the fourth quarter worth $2,460,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 31.4% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 36,664 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $7,812,000 after buying an additional 8,756 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Insight Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $4,455,000. Institutional investors own 87.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $242.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $237.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $277.00 price target on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Argus started coverage on Cheniere Energy in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set a "buy" rating and a $255.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Cheniere Energy from $202.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cheniere Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $239.79.

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Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Cheniere Energy stock traded down $23.23 on Friday, hitting $196.84. 4,977,313 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,834,072. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.03 billion, a PE ratio of 13.83 and a beta of 0.67. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $152.88 and a 1 year high of $257.65. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $221.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $212.22.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The energy company reported $4.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $1.59. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 37.19% and a net margin of 20.71%. The business had revenue of $4.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 EPS for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.02%. Cheniere Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cheniere Energy news, Director G Andrea Botta sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director now owns 33,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,448,852.34. This represents a 20.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.