Blue Trust Inc. Acquires 1,110 Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 78.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,527 shares of the energy company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,110 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $543,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LNG. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 195.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,200,456 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $755,410,000 after purchasing an additional 2,776,920 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 91.4% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,747,370 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $673,927,000 after buying an additional 1,789,919 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its position in Cheniere Energy by 328.2% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 894,600 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $160,885,000 after acquiring an additional 685,662 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in Cheniere Energy by 472.1% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 283,810 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $50,965,000 after acquiring an additional 234,202 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 77.5% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 433,686 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $77,903,000 after acquiring an additional 189,396 shares during the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

Cheniere Energy stock opened at $230.35 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $223.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $198.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $152.31 and a 1-year high of $257.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.68 billion, a PE ratio of 14.71 and a beta of 0.99.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $3.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $2.06. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 41.44% and a net margin of 22.70%. The firm’s revenue was down 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.37 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 12.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is currently 12.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on LNG. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $242.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Cheniere Energy from $201.00 to $217.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Cheniere Energy in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $215.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $204.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $202.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $232.36.

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.