Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Lowers Position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System decreased its position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 197,000 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 7,167 shares during the period. Cheniere Energy comprises 0.9% of Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $42,329,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 170.5% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 373.1% in the fourth quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 123 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Adirondack Trust Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Cheniere Energy

In related news, Director G Andrea Botta sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.51, for a total value of $1,975,590.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 33,934 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on LNG. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $242.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Argus began coverage on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $255.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $277.00 price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $202.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $195.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $239.79.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LNG opened at $224.07 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $50.12 billion, a PE ratio of 15.75 and a beta of 0.94. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $152.88 and a 12 month high of $257.65. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $224.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $208.17.

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

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. 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.