Alliancebernstein L.P. Boosts Stock Position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 42.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 783,261 shares of the energy company’s stock after buying an additional 232,028 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $168,299,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Cheniere Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $629,197,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 195.1% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,200,456 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $755,410,000 after acquiring an additional 2,776,920 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd lifted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 1,400.7% in the fourth quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 1,509,717 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $324,393,000 after acquiring an additional 1,409,116 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 328.2% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 894,600 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $160,885,000 after acquiring an additional 685,662 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its position in Cheniere Energy by 61.2% during the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 631,787 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LNG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $213.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $277.00 price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Cheniere Energy from $234.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Cheniere Energy from $248.00 to $254.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $242.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cheniere Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $239.79.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director G Andrea Botta sold 9,000 shares of Cheniere Energy 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 $7,448,852.34. The trade was a 20.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

Shares of LNG stock opened at $230.60 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $51.58 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. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $152.88 and a one year high of $257.65. The company’s 50-day moving average is $222.74 and its 200 day moving average is $211.68.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The energy company reported $4.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is 14.05%.

Cheniere Energy Company 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.