Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Increases Position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Free Report) by 49.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,470 shares of the energy company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,475 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC's holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $960,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Cheniere Energy by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,438,428 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $978,047,000 after buying an additional 167,575 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 195.1% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,200,456 shares of the energy company's stock worth $755,410,000 after acquiring an additional 2,776,920 shares during the period. Amundi increased its position in Cheniere Energy by 19.9% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,696,002 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $606,907,000 after acquiring an additional 448,189 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 11.0% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,793,989 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $322,631,000 after acquiring an additional 178,318 shares during the period. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its position in Cheniere Energy by 61.2% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,664,439 shares of the energy company's stock worth $357,638,000 after purchasing an additional 631,787 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.26% of the company's stock.

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Insider Transactions at Cheniere Energy

In related 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 transaction of $1,975,590.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 33,934 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 available at this link. Insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on LNG shares. Argus initiated coverage on Cheniere Energy in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $255.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $213.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. 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. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $248.00 to $254.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $237.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $239.79.

Cheniere Energy Trading Down 2.4 %

NYSE:LNG traded down $5.69 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $226.76. The stock had a trading volume of 2,259,406 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,748,465. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $152.88 and a one year high of $257.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $224.62 and a 200 day moving average of $210.02. The company 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 quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 20.71% and a return on equity of 37.19%. The company had revenue of $4.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 EPS for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Cheniere Energy's payout ratio is presently 14.05%.

Cheniere Energy 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.