Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Invests $3.85 Million in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 17,933 shares of the energy company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,853,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings 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 in the last quarter. 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 raised its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 91.4% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,747,370 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $673,927,000 after acquiring an additional 1,789,919 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,696,002 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $606,907,000 after purchasing an additional 448,189 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 11.0% during the 3rd 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 worth $322,631,000 after acquiring an additional 178,318 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of Cheniere Energy stock opened at $224.07 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $224.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $208.17. The stock has a market cap of $50.12 billion, a PE ratio of 15.75 and a beta of 0.94. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $152.88 and a 1 year 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) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 37.19% and a net margin of 20.71%. The company had revenue of $4.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.44 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LNG has been the subject of several research reports. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $248.00 to $254.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. TD Cowen increased their target price on Cheniere Energy from $242.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com raised Cheniere Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $237.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $202.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cheniere Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $239.79.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cheniere Energy news, Director G Andrea Botta sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.51, for a total value of $1,975,590.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 33,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,448,852.34. This trade represents a 20.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.