Viking Fund Management LLC Sells 9,000 Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Viking Fund Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Free Report) by 18.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,000 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 9,000 shares during the period. Cheniere Energy makes up 1.3% of Viking Fund Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Viking Fund Management LLC's holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $8,380,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LNG. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted 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 worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC bought a new stake in Cheniere Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Cheniere Energy during the third quarter worth $28,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $50,000. Institutional investors own 87.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $204.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Cheniere Energy from $202.00 to $242.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $201.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $242.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $231.64.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

LNG traded down $16.16 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $233.47. The stock had a trading volume of 4,848,337 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,314,068. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $152.31 and a 1 year high of $257.65. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $221.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $196.72. The stock has a market cap of $52.38 billion, a PE ratio of 14.91 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $3.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.87 by $2.06. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 22.70% and a return on equity of 41.44%. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.37 EPS. Cheniere Energy's revenue was down 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 12.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 18th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. Cheniere Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.77%.

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.