Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) Stake Trimmed by National Pension Service

National Pension Service decreased its holdings in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 31.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 337,533 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 155,747 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $72,462,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen increased their target price on Cheniere Energy from $242.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com raised Cheniere Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Cheniere Energy from $237.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group raised their price target on Cheniere Energy from $232.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Cheniere Energy from $195.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.75.

Cheniere Energy Price Performance

NYSE:LNG opened at $219.85 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. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $223.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $204.69. The company has a market cap of $49.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.45 and a beta of 0.98. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $152.31 and a 52-week high of $257.65.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 37.19% and a net margin of 20.71%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The company 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 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.