Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) Shares Sold by Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C.

Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. decreased its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Free Report) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,079,735 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 119,635 shares during the quarter. Cheniere Energy comprises approximately 8.5% of Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. owned about 1.37% of Cheniere Energy worth $661,743,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 170.5% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 119 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC increased its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 373.1% in the 4th quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 123 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Cheniere Energy during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 2,022.2% in the fourth quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 191 shares of the energy company's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Adirondack Trust Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. 87.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LNG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Cheniere Energy from $255.00 to $247.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $242.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $248.00 to $254.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $277.00 price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cheniere Energy has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $245.15.

Cheniere Energy Price Performance

LNG traded down $1.59 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $228.21. 2,181,609 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,884,718. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $220.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $215.66. The company has a market cap of $50.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.04 and a beta of 0.67. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $153.03 and a twelve month high of $257.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The energy company reported $4.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $1.59. The business had revenue of $4.44 billion for 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Cheniere Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.05%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director G Andrea Botta sold 9,000 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the director now directly owns 33,934 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,448,852.34. This trade represents a 20.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

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.