Argent Trust Co Decreases Position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Argent Trust Co cut its stake in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,771 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $2,099,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 170.5% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 119 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. WR Wealth Planners LLC lifted its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 373.1% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC increased its stake in Cheniere Energy by 2,022.2% in the 4th quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 191 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the period. Finally, Adirondack Trust Co. bought a new stake in Cheniere Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy Stock Down 2.2 %

NYSE:LNG opened at $213.07 on Friday. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $219.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $213.19. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $152.88 and a 1-year high of $257.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.97 and a beta of 0.67.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $4.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 research analysts anticipate that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 EPS for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is presently 14.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director G Andrea Botta sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on LNG shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Cheniere Energy from $237.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $277.00 price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. StockNews.com raised Cheniere Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $239.79.

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.