Norges Bank Acquires New Shares in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Norges Bank bought a new position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 2,928,267 shares of the energy company’s stock, valued at approximately $629,197,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LNG. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the fourth quarter worth $2,127,000. Fractal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 31.0% during the 4th quarter. Fractal Investments LLC now owns 59,200 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $12,720,000 after buying an additional 14,000 shares during the period. Anderson Hoagland & Co. bought a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,460,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 31.4% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 36,664 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $7,812,000 after buying an additional 8,756 shares during the period. Finally, Insight Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $4,455,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LNG opened at $226.16 on Friday. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $152.88 and a twelve month high of $257.65. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $223.55 and its 200-day moving average is $210.47. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $50.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.89 and a beta of 0.94.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The energy company reported $4.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $1.59. The firm had revenue of $4.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 20.71% and a return on equity of 37.19%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is 14.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LNG has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $277.00 target price on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $234.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $248.00 to $254.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cheniere Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Thursday, March 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cheniere Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $239.79.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cheniere Energy

In related news, Director G Andrea Botta sold 9,000 shares of the company’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 sale, the director now owns 33,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,448,852.34. This represents a 20.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.