Raymond James Financial Inc. Takes Position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 608,608 shares of the energy company’s stock, valued at approximately $130,772,000.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 170.5% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 119 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC boosted its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 373.1% during the 4th quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 123 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Adirondack Trust Co. bought a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy Price Performance

LNG opened at $220.57 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.07. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $152.88 and a 52-week high of $257.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.33 billion, a PE ratio of 15.50 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $225.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $206.37.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The energy company reported $4.33 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $4.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.44 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 EPS 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 given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.91%. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.05%.

Insider Activity at Cheniere Energy

In other Cheniere Energy news, Director G Andrea Botta sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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. The trade was a 20.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on LNG. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Cheniere Energy from $242.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $213.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com raised Cheniere Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group raised their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $232.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $195.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Cheniere Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.33.

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.