Main Street Research LLC Makes New Investment in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Main Street Research LLC purchased a new position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,060 shares of the energy company’s stock, valued at approximately $228,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LNG. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 17.3% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 57,979 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $12,458,000 after acquiring an additional 8,568 shares during the period. Sowell Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 12,282 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $2,639,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the period. Argentarii LLC bought a new stake in Cheniere Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $262,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy in the 4th quarter worth $2,525,000. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 19.9% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,696,002 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $606,907,000 after buying an additional 448,189 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Cheniere Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $202.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $234.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $237.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on Cheniere Energy from $247.00 to $254.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.33.

Insider Activity at Cheniere Energy

In other news, Director G Andrea Botta sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 33,934 shares of the company’s stock, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Cheniere Energy Trading Up 2.4 %

Cheniere Energy stock opened at $220.57 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market cap of $49.33 billion, a PE ratio of 15.50 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $225.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $206.54. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $152.88 and a one year high of $257.65.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The energy company reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $1.59. The firm had revenue of $4.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 20.71% and a return on equity of 37.19%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.05%.

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.