Clearstead Trust LLC Boosts Stake in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Clearstead Trust LLC raised its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 84.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,681 shares of the energy company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,681 shares during the quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $791,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in Cheniere Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,028,000. Poinciana Advisors Group LLC purchased a new stake in Cheniere Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $208,000. United Capital Management of KS Inc. raised its stake in Cheniere Energy by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. United Capital Management of KS Inc. now owns 24,017 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $5,160,000 after acquiring an additional 3,104 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC raised its stake in Cheniere Energy by 204.0% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC now owns 1,371 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 920 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Midwest Professional Planners LTD. raised its stake in Cheniere Energy by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Midwest Professional Planners LTD. now owns 8,832 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,898,000 after acquiring an additional 530 shares during the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on LNG shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $213.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Cheniere Energy from $195.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Cheniere Energy from $237.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Cheniere Energy from $202.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.33.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

LNG opened at $218.61 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $48.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.36 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $224.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $207.29. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $152.88 and a 1-year high of $257.65.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last released 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 business had revenue of $4.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.44 billion. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 37.19% and a net margin of 20.71%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Cheniere Energy

In other Cheniere Energy news, Director G Andrea Botta sold 9,000 shares of the 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.