Whittier Trust Co. Increases Stake in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Whittier Trust Co. increased its position in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 60,274 shares of the energy company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $12,951,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LNG. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 195.1% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,200,456 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $755,410,000 after buying an additional 2,776,920 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 91.4% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,747,370 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $673,927,000 after buying an additional 1,789,919 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd increased its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 1,400.7% during the fourth quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 1,509,717 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $324,393,000 after buying an additional 1,409,116 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 328.2% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 894,600 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $160,885,000 after buying an additional 685,662 shares during the period. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 61.2% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,664,439 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $357,638,000 after buying an additional 631,787 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director G Andrea Botta sold 9,000 shares of Cheniere Energy stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 33,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on LNG shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Cheniere Energy from $234.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Cheniere Energy from $195.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Cheniere Energy from $213.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Cheniere Energy from $202.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $239.79.

Cheniere Energy Price Performance

Shares of LNG stock opened at $230.52 on Friday. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $152.88 and a fifty-two week high of $257.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.94. 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 $224.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $208.46.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last released its 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors 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 0.87%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.05%.

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.