Dana Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Free Report) by 7.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,685 shares of the energy company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,221 shares during the quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $4,015,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake 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 worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. WR Wealth Planners LLC grew its stake 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 worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Adirondack Trust Co. acquired a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 4th quarter worth $43,000. 87.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
In other news, Director G Andrea Botta sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.51, for a total transaction of $1,975,590.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 33,934 shares in the company, valued at $7,448,852.34. This represents a 20.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.
NYSE:LNG traded up $5.16 on Friday, reaching $220.57. The stock had a trading volume of 2,749,123 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,749,501. The company has a market cap of $49.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.50 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm's fifty day moving average is $225.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $206.21. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $152.88 and a 12-month high of $257.65.
Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG - Get Free Report) last announced 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 business had revenue of $4.44 billion for 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%. Equities analysts expect that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.
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. 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 payout ratio is currently 14.05%.
A number of research firms have recently weighed in on LNG. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $232.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $247.00 to $254.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $213.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays increased their price objective 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $237.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Cheniere Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $236.33.
Get Our Latest Report on 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.
Before you consider Cheniere Energy, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Cheniere Energy wasn't on the list.
While Cheniere Energy currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.