Merrion Investment Management Co LLC Purchases New Position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Merrion Investment Management Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 2,000 shares of the energy company's stock, valued at approximately $430,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LNG. New England Research & Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,257,000. Strategic Blueprint LLC raised its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 28,285 shares of the energy company's stock worth $6,078,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 61.2% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,664,439 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $357,638,000 after purchasing an additional 631,787 shares during the period. Accordant Advisory Group Inc boosted its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 34.7% during the fourth quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 14,015 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $3,011,000 after purchasing an additional 3,611 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BSW Wealth Partners purchased a new stake in Cheniere Energy in the fourth quarter worth $205,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LNG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $215.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $232.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Cheniere Energy from $213.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays raised their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $202.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on Cheniere Energy from $242.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $232.36.

Cheniere Energy Price Performance

NYSE LNG traded up $1.91 during trading on Thursday, hitting $229.95. 990,000 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,307,387. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $223.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $198.82. 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 company has a market capitalization of $51.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.71 and a beta of 0.99. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $152.31 and a 12-month high of $257.65.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $3.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $2.06. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 22.70% and a return on equity of 41.44%. The firm had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.37 EPS. The business's revenue was down 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 12.67 EPS for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Cheniere Energy's payout ratio is 12.77%.

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.